In a span of 10 days, one Florida church lost six of its congregants to the COVID-19 pandemic. So its pastor is making it a top priority to see churchgoers get vaccinated.
Impact Church in Jacksonville hosted its second free vaccination clinic on Sunday in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, according to a Facebook post by the church.
“Yesterday’s vaccination event was amazing! 269 people got vaccinated and 35% of those were teens! This added to the 800 people who got vaccinated at our first event in March.”
Senior Pastor George Davis told WJXT News that four of the six church members that died were under the age of 35.
“All of them were healthy, and the only thing they had in common was they were not vaccinated,” Davis said.
And 15 to 20 more church members are currently in the hospital while another 10 are at home with the virus.
“It’s pain,” the pastor added. “These are actual people that I know, that I have pastored. One 24-year-old kid, I’ve known him since he was a toddler.”
The church first found out in July that a member had tested positive. Since then, the number of infected people has escalated.
Davis said those who passed away weren’t in the hospital long before they succumbed to the virus.
“All I know is my heart’s passion is to help the people that I’m called to serve and do whatever I can to help see to it that they are in a healthier place,” he explained.
Impact Church has taken the necessary precautions to keep churchgoers safe, including deep cleaning the building in between services.
“We are continuing to do our part by asking that all visitors remain masked, socially distanced, and we provide hand sanitizing stations through the entire church,” the church posted.
Florida has seen a surge in COVID cases in the past month.
The Department of Health and Human Services reports that as of Sunday, 13,793 coronavirus patients accounted for 24 percent of the state’s inpatient beds.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN
