The Orlando shooting was the worst mass shooting in American history, with 50 dead (including the shooter) and 53 wounded. But our God works through His obedient servants to bring redemption and restoration in the aftermath of tragic events like this. One such servant is Alliance Pastor and C&MA Board member Ivan Marti.
Ivan’s church, Tabernáculo de la Fe (Alliance) in Orlando, is located less than 10 miles from Pulse nightclub where the shooting took place June 12. Although none of his congregants were directly affected, the grief was deeply felt within this predominantly Puerto Rican church, as 23 who perished in the shooting were also of Puerto Rican descent. The club had been hosting a “Latin Night” at the time of the shooting.
Two days after the shooting, a man in his late 60s came to Ivan’s church looking for someone to answer his question: “Was that [shooting] God killing homosexuals because they’re bad?”
Ivan replied, “If God was in the business of killing bad people, we’d all be dead.”
After his question was answered, the man began to tell Ivan more about his life. Though he had gained much success in his business, it did not fulfill him. He still struggled with an unceasing emptiness.
This gave Ivan the chance to tell this man that the only thing that could truly fill the void in his life was Jesus.
The man asked Ivan, “What do I need to do?” Ivan led him in prayer to accept Christ as Lord of his life but told him after they prayed,“This is not just a prayer; it is a process. You must continue to have a relationship with God.”
The man showed interest in continuing to learn, so Ivan invited him to participate in a six-week-long Bible study for new believers. He attended the following Wednesday, and Ivan saw him at church on Sunday, a week after the shooting.
Providentially, this man’s wife had come to Christ at Tabernáculo de la Fe three years prior. She had attended the church for three months before the couple moved back to Puerto Rico for a few years. Because of her connection, her husband was given the gift of a new life in Christ.
Ivan said the lesson he learned from this encounter can best be expressed in a quote he once heard from Rick Warren: “God is an expert at bringing good out of bad.”