Pastor Murdered Mid-sermon: A young pastor “with great potential” was shot and killed Friday while preaching at Eagle Christian Center in Newlands, South Africa.
Pastor Dwayne Gordon, 22 was a guest speaker for the church’s Restoration Conference, which was scheduled to hold from Oct. 6–8.
Gordon was preaching on the first day of the program when six gunmen entered the church and began robbing members of mobile phones and other valuables at gunpoint.
In addition to the pastor’s death, three other congregants were reportedly wounded, and women and children were “severely traumatized.”
The footage of the service which was livestreamed on several social media platforms shows members of the church worshiping for about 28 minutes before Gordon was excitedly welcomed to the pulpit. Two teenage boys were also seen playing instruments behind him as the event unfolded. Gunshots and shouting can be heard in the later part of the video.
“We were confronted by a tragic and harrowing situation. Six armed individuals entered our sacred place of worship, robbing members of their belongings, tragically taking the life of our guest speaker, Prophet Dwayne Gordon,” a Facebook statement of the church led by Pastor Mervyn and Maria Campher read.
Bishop Randal Coetzee, who was seated directly next to Gordon at the time he was shot, spoke to Eyewitness News on Monday. He said:
“When they came in, they took out their guns, cocked it – put one in the chamber. He shot at the camera, that’s why the camera fell. So that was one of the first shots that went off. The second guy walked in, he had a black cap on, he lifted his hand and shot in the air. One went into the wall and one into the roof.”
Speaking about the callous murder of the young pastor, Bishop Dulton Adams of the African Christian Democratic Party told reporters “It is a very tragic thing that happened on Friday night. We continue to share our deepest condolences with the family and the church community.
“This has come to us as a great shock that evil does, will come into the house of worship and do this heinous crime by shooting the pastor while he is still preaching. Pastor Gordon was a young man with great potential”