YWAM Officials Seeking God In The Midst Of Tragedy
By: Allie Martin
Early Sunday morning, a gunman opened fire at a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) training center in the Denver suburb of Arvada. Four staff members were injured, and two died from their wounds. As authorities conduct their investigation, ministry officials are fielding media inquires from around the world, while at the same time trying to provide comfort and counseling for friends and families of the victims.
Paul Filidis, a YWAM spokesman from Colorado Springs, says ministry leaders and workers are praying that God will be glorified through the tragedy. “We ask for prayer that something good would come out of this, that God would be honored, that more people would be interested in Youth With a Mission, or mission involvement rather than shying away from being involved with church, being involved in involved in ministry.” says Filidis.
Filidis also stated that the tragedy has allowed ministry workers to share the gospel with the world as they answer media questions. When asked about future security concerns, he says that each YWAM ministry center will make their own decisions in that area. YWAM has locations worldwide and trains more than 25,000 people every year to be involved in spreading the gospel.
Law enforcement authorities have identified the shooter in Arvada as Matthew Murray, 24, from Englewood, Colorado, and are reporting he also is responsible for the shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs several hours later. That incident resulted in two others being killed before Murray himself was shot and killed by a church member who volunteers as a security guard. (See related article)
In a statement published on the YWAM website, the ministry expresses condolences to the families of all the victims. “Our hearts also go out to the Murray family, to whom we extend a spirit of forgiveness,” says YWAM.
(Source: OneNewsNow.com)
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