Simon Cox Blog: One-on-One with Pastor Vance Pitman on the Tragedy in Las Vegas

Monday 2 October 2017

One-on-One with Pastor Vance Pitman on the Tragedy in Las Vegas

My friend Vance pastors Hope Church in Las Vegas.

This morning I wrote on how we can respond to the recent tragedy in Las Vegas. Today, I also had the opportunity to chat briefly with Vance Pitman, senior pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas. Below is what we discussed.

Ed: What’s going on with the churches in Las Vegas in the aftermath of the shooting? How are they mobilizing to respond?

Vance Pitman: The churches in Las Vegas have a great spirit of collaboration. Many churches are hosting prayer services and prayer vigils throughout the day. We’ve opened our campus up all day for prayer and have encouraged our people to go to a blood bank and donate blood. There is a huge need right now.

We’ve mobilized some of our trained/certified trauma grief counselors to be on site at Mandalay Bay in response to their request to counsel those experiencing the horror of this tragedy. We will also be addressing this from our pulpit on Sunday and dedicating our service to helping God’s people and our city process this tragedy from a biblical worldview perspective. I’ve talked to other pastors who will be doing the same thing. Every pastor with whom I’ve spoken has said we are in this together and want to serve on another.

Ed: How did you first respond when you heard this morning? What scripture or prayer has encouraged you today?

Vance: Today is actually my birthday. When I woke up to my phone buzzing continuously, my first thought was, “Are these all birthday texts?” Then I picked up my phone and read the horror of what was taking place. My heart broke for my city. I thought of all the families that were in crisis who had no idea this would be their Monday morning. I immediately thought of Psalm 46:1. We can run to God in moments of crisis and ...