American Pastor And Father of Four Killed As He Stopped To Help Stranded Driver
Written by Heartsong Live on 21st July 2020
Popular Texan pastor and church planter John Powell was killed in a highway accident as he was helping a driver who had stopped in the traffic lanes.
News reports state that the pastor and another man had stopped to help a truck that had been rear-ended by another car and caught fire around 11:30 Saturday night.
While the men were assisting the truck, a semi-truck came toward them on the highway. According to police, Powell saw the semi-truck approaching and pushed the other man out of the way to save him.
Powell was struck and killed
Dr. Russell Moore- president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission – the public-policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)- shared the news of Powell’s death on social media on Sunday
“I am shocked and shaken and grieving this morning, beyond what I can say,” Moore tweeted. “My former student John Powell was killed last night, hit by an eighteen-wheeler while helping stranded motorists off of a highway.”
“He was everything I would want any of my sons to be when they grow up,” Moore wrote.
Tributes have poured in prominent Christian figures since the news broke on Sunday
In response to Moore’s Twitter post, ministry leader Beth Moore tweeted, “Heartbreaking. Praying, Brother.”
“It is impossible to imagine the heartbreak of this young family in the death of their husband & father & of this church in losing their pastor,” wrote Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “But John Powell loved Christ, preached Christ, trusted Christ. Our hearts break for them. This is why we sing that all we have is Christ.”
Reflecting on the life of humility Pastor Powell lived, Author and pastor Dean Inserra wrote:
“He never cared about being known,” wrote Inserra. “Faithfully ploughed daily as a family man and local church pastor. He did not sweat what many sweat.”
Until his death, John Powell was the senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in New Caney, Texas. He was married to Katherine and together they have 4 young children
A GoFundMe page was set up by Andrew Walker, a professor at Southern Seminary to raise funds for the Powell family
The page reads: “We are asking for friends and family to help care for the Powell family as they deal with unspeakable tragedy and grief. As they have shown all of their family and friends love in times past, let us now, as the body of Christ, show them love and care.”
As of the time of writing, over $200,000 of the $250,000 target has been raised so far
