The elder Osteen founded the church in a converted feed store in 1959. His televised sermons reach about 100 countries. The church has grown tremendously over the past 25 years since Joel Osteen took over after his father’s death in 1999 and introduced an upbeat style of Christian televangelism that has captured a following of millions. Greg Abbott issued a statement saying “our hearts are with those impacted by today’s tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston. So we’re going to keep going strong and just, you know, doing what God’s called us to do: lift people up and give hope to the world.” “There are forces of evil, but the forces that are for us - the forces of God - are stronger than that. “We’re going to stay strong and we’re going to continue to, to move forward,” he said during the news conference with police. It was not clear where he was at the time of the shooting. Osteen said Sunday that his congregation is “devastated.” He added that he would pray for the victims and for the woman who did the shooting and their families. First responders continued to search the megachurch for hours afterwards. A group of normal 14yearold teenagers at a secondary school in Zürich with the normal yearnings for love and. Both have been placed on protocol-mandated administrative duty.Īfter she was shot, the woman told police that she had a bomb, but authorities said no explosives were found when her vehicle and backpack were searched. With guidance from an unexpected source, he discovers the true meaning of friendship and learns an invaluable life lesson along the way. The officers work for the Houston Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, respectively. They had been working security at the church on Sunday, and Finner praised them for their quick actions. Move within me Holy Spirit.”ĭespite the chaos, Finner said the tragedy “could have been a lot worse” if the two officers had not “engaged” the woman when she opened fire. Outside, Guity said, he and his mother tried to calm people down by worshiping and singing in Spanish, “Move in me, move in me. They remained there for about five minutes until someone told them it was safe to evacuate. The 35-year-old ran to his mother and they both laid flat on the floor and prayed as the gunfire continued. “Boom, boom, boom, boom and I yelled, ‘Mom,’ ” he told The Associated Press. Longtime church member Alan Guity, whose family is from Honduras, said he was resting inside the church’s sanctuary before the Spanish service as his mother was working as an usher when he heard gunshots.
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