ONTARIO — It was not a political event Wednesday night at the Avenue Church in Ontario.
There were no MAGA hats or shirts. There was no discussion of presidents, congressmen or the Statehouse. No one even mentioned an upcoming or past election at the 1756 Park Ave. West facility.
It was simply a church auditorium filled with people who came together to share religious beliefs and remember the life and works of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and Christian leader who was assassinated Sept. 10 while speaking on a college campus in Utah.
There was a spaghetti dinner served by the church before the 7 p.m. service began, an event that included several local churches. There were men and women of all ages, as well as babies, toddlers and teenagers. There was music and laughter and a feeling of community.
There were prayers for Kirk and his family. There were prayers for the young man charged with fatally shooting Kirk in the neck during a public appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. There were prayers for the country, state and Richland County.
There was also a powerful message shared by several pastors and a few young people invited to speak: the idea that Kirk’s death has ignited a Christian revival around the country.
The message was that the effort to promote the message of Jesus Christ didn’t begin or end with Kirk, who left college at 18 to begin a career that included launching Turning Point USA in 2012.
“I don’t want to create a golden calf out of Charlie Kirk,” said Tina Yarger, one of the pastors who spoke. “Here’s the thing: Every single person in this room has the ability to do the same thing (as Kirk). The question is: Are you willing to do it?”
(Photos from a dinner, vigil and prayer service in the memory of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday night at Avenue Church, 756 Park Ave. West in Ontario. The story continues below the images.)
‘I want to pray for the shooter’
Pastor Paul Lintern was among those who asked those in attendance, many of whom attend other churches, to pray for 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a young adult who could face a firing squad if convicted of the murder.
According to court documents, Robinson told his parents he killed Kirk because “there is too much evil and the guy (Charlie Kirk) spreads too much hate.”
“I want to pray for the shooter and I want us to recognize that indeed Satan entered him to bring about this act and convinced him it was the right thing to do,” Lintern said. “It’s not unlike what Satan did to Judas.
“May the Lord have mercy on him. He will face judgment and he will face judgment according to the law of the land and it will be appropriate,” he said.
“(But) he will have the opportunity to offer his soul to the Lord. I think, given the upbringing that he had, a turning will take place … there will be a returning to the Lord and the Lord will speak through him,” Lintern said.
Three young men lift their own voices
Three young men — Brandon Polak, A.J. Roll and Bradley Swain — spoke of the impact Kirk had on their lives and how they planned to continue the Christian messaging.
“We have to remember tonight that Charlie Kirk has inspired a new generation of leaders in our country, a generation of people that are now believers in God. How many people has Charlie Kirk brought to God? Countless,” Polak said.
“We have to celebrate that tonight. We can be sad, we can be distraught, we can be angry that Charlie Kirk was assassinated. But we must remember the legacy that he leaves behind that is going to live through each and every one of us in this room tonight,” he said.
Roll said Kirk lived his values of God, family and country to his last breath.
“Tonight, we gather not only to mourn, but to honor a man who finished his race with courage. Charlie Kirk lived by example and he lived by a simple but powerful motto — God, family and country, in that order.
“If you think about it, that’s the blueprint for a meaningful life. He put God first. He cherished his family and he loved this country deeply, believing in its promise, even when others try to tear it down and still try to tear it down today,” Roll said.
“Charlie showed us what it means to run the race, fight the fight and finish strong, and now he is home with the Lord. As a young, Gen Z Black conservative, I’ll be honest, it’s not easy in this day and age. It’s scary,” he said.
The 17-year-old Swain credited Kirk with empowering young people.
“It gave me the courage to believe that my voice matters, too. As a 17-year-old who isn’t registered to vote yet, that doesn’t mean I can’t be as educated as everybody else in this room.
“(Kirk’s) example motivated me to not only dream big, but to act boldly. And that matters,” Swain said.
“They silenced the nice guy. We will not be as nice. We will not be as forgiving and we will not be as tolerant. Not anymore. We’ve been that way for far too long.
“It’s time for us to speak up and act boldly, just like he did. The key word there is act. We have to do something. We can’t sit back behind our phones and post on Facebook what we believe.
“We have to get out here and we have to say it,” Swain said.
‘A fire’s been lit’
Jessica Wilging, children’s director at Fusion Church Lexington, urged those in attendance not to let the moment pass without making a difference.
“This is the moment that the bride of Christ should take advantage of. The devil crossed the line. He overplayed his hand.
“He can’t seem to remember that every time he murders one of God’s saints, it will backfire on him. Because it wakes us up, right? Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? Oh yeah, you lost it when Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
“The only thing that death, the murder of a saint, can do is light a fire in the church still here on earth and a fire’s been lit,” Wilging said.
“A fire’s been lit. It is not a fire of violence or vengeance. It is a fire of revival. Revival will be our response.
“Sowing the seeds of the gospel generously will be our response and then bringing in a massive harvest, that’s going to be our response,” she said.