Wedgewood Shooting

Wedgewood Shooting!

God works through Wedgewood. This e-mail was sent by
somebody who attends the Wedgwood Baptist Church, in Ft.
Worth TX. By now almost everyone has heard of the tragedy
that took place on Sept. 15, when a gunman entered Wedgwood
Baptist Church and killed 7 people and injured 7 others before
taking his own life. That morning had been the day of "See You
at the Pole," when students gather around their flagpole in the
morning to pray for their school and nation. What the media
hasn't reported however, is how God has been so evident, both
during and after the shooting. He has done amazing works!

Before The Shooting:
***Our pastor, Brother Al, had prayed that God would do
whatever it took to expand the ministry of Wedgwood Baptist
Church. Our church is one that is used as a model of how
NOT to pick a location, because no one in the world can find
it. Now almost everyone in the world knows exactly where it
is.

Evidence of God's Control During The Shooting:
***To enter the church, the gunman walked past our children's
playground, which should have been full of kids, but for some
reason every single children's and preschool class was running
late. No one had made it to the playground yet.
***He fired over 100 bullets into a crowd of over 400, but
only 14 people were hit.
***He did not shoot the over 60 bullets he still had with him.
***The bottom fell off of the pipe bomb he threw, and the
bomb land without ever exploding.
***One of the youth that was wounded (she was shielding a
disabled friend with her body) has scoliosis. The curve in her
spine directed the bullet away from major organs, saving her
from serious injury.
***Because the first 911 call came in on a police radio,
emergency vehicles were dispatched immediately, without
spending precious time to verify that call was real.
***One of the people in the church at the time was a
paramedic, and he was able to stop bleeding and stabilize
injured people before the emergency crews arrived.
***Leaders were able to get the children out of the building
without the kids having to see any victims or any of the mess.
***Each children's worker stayed with his/her class even
though they all had children elsewhere in the building, and
some had teens in the sanctuary. Not one worker left his or her
post.
***None of the adults who died had children.
***All 7 victims were not just Christians, but bold Christians
who were passionate about their faith.
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to
accomplish what is not being done, the saving of many lives."
(Genesis 50:20) Or, what God has done since the shooting:
***Many denominations have pulled together to offer help
and support. One example is the United Methodist Church
who sent 15 people the following Sunday to cover our child
care. They didn't want any church members to have to miss
the service because they were taking care of the children.
***A church in Tulsa, Oklahoma drove over 5 hours just so
they could march around our church and pray during our
Sunday morning services.
***The Fort Worth Police Dept. planted flowers in the flower
beds before we reentered the sanctuary to worship.
***We have received over 10,000 emails, 5000 cards, and
$60,000 from all over the world.
***Al Meredith, our pastor has had the microphone in his face
continually and has over and over given an outstanding answer
to the reason for our hope. He presented the gospel beautifully
on Larry King Live when prompted by a question asked by
Vice President Al Gore.
***Because of the live news coverage and interviews, over
200 million people have heard the gospel because of this
tragedy.
***Fifteen thousand turned out for a community wide service
at TCU football stadium. Brother Al gave a very serious
challenging message calling for a day of fasting and heart
searching (Monday the 20th). The service was broadcast live
in its entirety on WBAP 820 which is a news station that
covers most of north Texas. This same news station has
replayed our pastor's first press conference due to people
calling in and requesting to hear his comforting words again.
***CNN also broadcast the memorial service live. Amazingly,
because one of the victim's families lives and works in Saudi
Arabia, that country allowed the service to be broadcast there
as well. In Saudi Arabia it is illegal to say the name of Jesus
on the street.
***Because of that same CNN broadcast, 35 people in Japan
gave their lives to Christ
***When President Clinton finally got through to him,
Brother Al ended their conversation by praying, after gaining
permission, for the Clinton family.
***At several schools, students met around their flagpoles the
next day. At one school 25 students accepted Christ, and 110
at another.
***A teacher led 22 students to Christ in her classroom.
***Christian teachers all over North Texas have been able to
share with their classes because the students are asking
questions about their teachers' faith.
***In Burleson, prayers and Scripture are being said over the
intercom
***On the east coast, where "See You at the Pole" was
delayed because of the hurricane, record numbers of kids
showed up to pray.
***Governor Bush and the Fort Worth mayor quietly came to
our pastor's home while the staff were meeting and praying
and joined in the prayer meeting. This was not political! Only
those who are close to staff members heard about this; the
media never knew.
***Governor Bush has visited with our pastor several times,
and Brother Al has had an impact on him. Just think of the
influence our pastor could have if Governor Bush is the next
president!
***A caller to an area Christian radio station said that he
didn't know what those people had but he wanted it. The DJ
proceeded to lead him to Christ. Many notes left in front of the
church contain the same sentiment. Those who don't know
Jesus want what we have!
***The church has received so many emails asking us how we
are able to have hope and continue on. There are teams of
church member volunteers responding to these emails.
***My friend Jodi has been praying for her husband for years.
She and their 4-yr-old daughter were at the church that night.
3 days ago Scott gave his life to Christ.
***We have had over 70,000 hits on our web page which
displays the plan of salvation in multiple languages.
***Many members at Wedgwood Baptist are healing broken
relationships within the body and experiencing spiritual
renewal.

These are just a few of the miracles that are happening. God's
grace is almost overwhelming. Every time
the gunman fired a bullet, he intended to take a life. Yet God
turned that around and saved several lives for
each bullet fired. The faith of those who died has been
multiplied many times over.

"I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because
your faith is being reported all over the world.." Romans 1:8