4 Tennessee Church Members Killed, Pastor Injured in Small Plane Crash

By admin On Jan 20, 2023

Harvest Church in Germantown, Tennessee, is mourning the loss of several church members who died in a tragic plane crash this week.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), on Tuesday morning, a single-engine Piper PA-46 plane went down south of the Yoakum Municipal Airport in Texas. At the time, the plane was headed toward Yoakum. One of Harvest Church’s partners is located about two hours from the crash site.

The FAA noted that one flight crew member and three passengers died, while the plane was “destroyed” in the crash.

In a Tuesday Facebook post, Harvest Church identified the victims as church executive president Bill Garner, church elder Steve Tucker and members Tyler Patterson and Tyler Springer. Tucker was reportedly the pilot of the small plane.

“All were beloved members of Harvest Church, and their loss currently leaves us without the proper words to articulate our grief,” the statement said.

According to The Christina Post, the church’s senior pastor Kennon Vaughan is the only one who survived the crash and “is in stable condition in a Texas hospital.”

“We ask for your prayers and kindly request that the families of all involved are given the proper space to grieve at this time,” the church’s statement said. “We will provide more information as it is received. We covet your prayers.”

In a Wednesday morning update, the church praised God for improvement of Vaughan’s condition. Vaughan, they said, “is breathing on his own and has been able to communicate some through writing.”

They added that the pastor would undergo surgery to repair his abdomen.

In a Thursday morning update, Harvest Church shared that “the primary prayer request right now is that no infections will develop as the surgeons had to repair several internal injuries. Please pray for God’s hand to continually bring healing to Kennon’s body and for the strength of God’s spirit to sustain Kathryn, who remains by his side. Kennon has been communicative today and undoubtedly feels your prayers.”

Later that day, the church reiterated their prayer request for Vaughan and asked for prayers for the families of Bill, Steve, and the two Tylers as memorial services “are being planned.”

The fatal crash comes only days after North American Mission Board church planter Clint Clifton died in a plane crash in Georgia.

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.

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