Wife of Megachurch pastor, mother of 5 dies by suicide

More than $500,00 (£340,000) has been raised via a GoFundMe page “to help ease the financial burden that Christopher will now take on to raise 5 babies as a single parent including final expenses for Paige and the loss of income from Paige’s businesses.

Christians are being urged to pray for the husband and young children of Paige Hilken after she took her own life earlier this month.

She was the wife of Christopher Hilken, a California-based megachurch teaching pastor, and was responsible for a young adult programme called “The Jordan”.

During last Sunday’s church service, one of the pastors of North Coast Church, pastor Larry Osborne explained the 28-year-old took her own life after battling with mental health issues.

Pastor Osborne said she had recently been admitted to a top mental health clinic in Arizona but “sadly, it wasn’t enough”.

“The whole sense of fear and compulsiveness had just kind of taken her over, and we were praying for her and we were counselling for her. We were doing everything we can.”

Paige Hilken ran an online business of selling natural products “to help you transition to a non-toxic, low waste lifestyle on a budget by going HOMEMADE”, as described on her business Instagram page.

Paige was also very active on her personal Instagram account, sharing pictures of her family and tips about home-schooling and bible truths to combat anxiety with her 16,000 followers.

Crystal Rosenthal, head of athletics at Concordia University Irvine, where Paige played softball and met husband Christopher, said she was “simply amazing”.

“She was brilliant, driven, kind, generous and always rooting for others to succeed. She pushed herself in everything that she did and helped bring others up along the way. She was the kind of person that would spend her time figuring out ways to inspire and motivate others and was passionate about her love for God and her love for her family.”

The GoFundMe page explains how Paige’s mental health issues began after she received “a catastrophic medical diagnosis in April that led to PTSD and other co-occurring mental health issues.”

“There will be a host of brand new giants to face for Christopher who faces a new normal as a single dad of 5 kids under the age of 6, we would love to make sure that finances aren’t a burden for him in this season,” it concludes.