2007 Shooting Event
A gunman, identified as a former YWAM student Matthew Murray, shot four staff members at the missionary training center near Denver in the early morning hours on December 9, 2007, killing two, after being refused access to the training center's facilities.
Even despite a long history of accusations of spiritual abuse in YWAM through frequent misapplication of its long-held core value of hearing God's voice by often ill-trained leaders and staff and the abuse of authority through alleged mind-control and brainwashing, YWAM's School of Writing director Janice Rogers noted that YWAM had been the victim of violent offenders before, including homicides and other violent acts, although this is the first act of aggression against the mission on US soil, according to Mrs Rogers. Rogers stated that there are "two predominant reasons YWAM'ers have been killed; robbery or crime, or spiritual resistance to the Gospel".
Youth With A Mission's Dean Sherman also released two podcast messages in response to the shootings.
- Video Response from Dean Sherman, a well known YWAM teacher
- Audio Response from Dean Sherman, a well known YWAM teacher
Read more about this topic: Australian Relief & Mercy Services
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