Ministries Reach Out to Va. Tech Shooting Victims

Christians are reaching out to the victims of the recent shooting at Virginia Tech. The gunman, identified by police as a 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior from South Korea, killed 33 including himself during a shooting spree at the school Monday.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVF) campus staff and students met for prayer Monday night at Virginia and were planning a campuswide prayer event on Wednesday at noon. “Our thoughts and our prayers are with the students of Virginia Tech and their families,” IVF President Alec Hill said Monday.

“Events such as today’s tragic shooting bring students to an abrupt confrontation with their own mortality. InterVarsity staff are trained to help students face life’s issues and find their hope in the promises of Jesus Christ. Our staff members, Wes Barts, Lindsey Jones and Robert Howe, ask for your prayers as they and their students deal with the impact of this tragedy.”

In a statement released the day of the shooting, Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said his organization has offered the community of Blacksburg, Va., where the school is located, the resources of its Rapid Response Team, which sends chaplains trained in crisis counseling.

“Sadly, we have once again been reminded of the evil that people can perpetrate on others; and while many theories will surface in the coming days and weeks about how such a terrible act occurs, I believe what we’ve seen here is ultimately a reflection of the condition of the human heart,” Graham said.

“My prayer in this time of tragedy is that it will pull us together as a nation and focus our attention on those families who have suffered great loss and turn our eyes to the Prince of all peace, Jesus Christ.”