HOUSTON — Joel Osteen preached about living without fear in the first Sunday service at his Lakewood Church since a shooting last week that left a child in critical condition and a man injured.
The alleged shooter, identified as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, walked into the church accompanied by her 7-year-old son on Feb. 11 and started shooting, according to officials. Her son was struck in the head during the incident and was in critical condition. A 47-year-old man was injured and has since been released from the hospital. Police previously said he was 57.
Osteen took to the stage during the church’s 8:30 a.m. service to greet an auditorium full of people. He started off with a prayer.
“Lord, we think of your faithfulness, especially this week, Lord, what you brought us through,” Osteen said. “We don’t take it for granted. Your angels were watching over each one of us.”
Osteen prayed for a 7-year-old boy whom he identified as “Samuel” and asked God to “show him your mercy.”
The 47-year-old man who was also injured in the shooting attended service at the church Sunday, according to police.
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Osteen also prayed for the alleged shooter and her family, as he broke out in tears.
“I just ask you, Lord, to heal the hurts in that family,” he said.
Osteen said he “never dreamed something like this would happen.” He was finishing up a meeting and was walking to his office when he saw people who mentioned there had been “some kind of incident” at the church, he said.
After getting back into his office, he got a text from Houston Police Chief Troy Finner asking if he was OK.
“And I text back I said, ‘I’m OK, but I don’t know what’s going on,’” Osteen said, adding that the church is lucky to have law enforcement.
Demiya Henry and Danyelle Judie were at the church last week when they were told that someone was shooting and were instructed to “get down.”
“At first I didn’t think it was happening,” Henry told NBC News. “But we didn’t think anything of it … but then it took seriously when everyone started running.”
Henry and Judie ran to a room for children in the church and started praying.
“We were just in there [with the children] praying,” Judie said. “My mindset was to get as many people to pray as possible.”
“It was traumatic, you know, for a lot of people that were here and even people that weren’t here, because this is our church and this is what God has given us,” Osteen said. “For somebody to come in and kind of, not kind of, but to violate and do something crazy — but you know what? Like we singing in all these songs, we trust in God.”
Osteen also honored the church’s security team during his remarks, calling them “heroes.”
He cried as he instructed everyone to hold hands in prayer.
“Lord, we thank you again for what you’ve done. We don’t take for granted, Lord, it could have been a different story this Sunday,” he said.
During the service, Osteen preached about defining moments that can make someone decide to live in fear.
“That’s where we are at Lakewood,” Osteen said. “This troubled woman came in and tried to do harm. This is a critical moment. As a church we can shrink back, ‘It’s dangerous, let’s hide our life. Let’s just go under the radar.’ But this is a time to shine brighter than ever, to share more hope, to dig down deep and say, ‘We will not fear, for our God is stronger, our God is greater.’”
Jared and Elizabeth Schaefer, who regularly attend the Lakewood Church, had left the building shortly before the shooting happened. They felt safe coming back to the church Sunday for 11 a.m. service.
“When it happened I was shocked,” Elizabeth said. “Ever since that, just seeing how well the church and the city handled the situation, we felt safe coming back.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Finner, the police chief, joined Osteen onstage in the 11 a.m. service.
Whitmire thanked first responders during his remarks and said the shooting had brought the community together.
“You know, you never question God’s will, but certainly after the tragedy of last week, he had a purpose in bringing us together to show how united our city is,” Whitmire said.
Finner said the police department will be releasing video of the incident in a few days, adding that it shows the heroism of first responders.
“When God put men and women in place to protect people, that’s what happened last Sunday,” he said.
Finner said when he first got a call about a shooting at the Lakewood Church, he knew “this one was for real.”
“And I was grabbing my stuff trying to get together and I said, ‘Let me pause, let me call to check on our pastor, but my brother,’” Finner said. “And also, I thought about my mother, and this entire congregation.”
Finner said if it weren’t for first responders, the shooting could have been much worse.
“In almost 34 years I’ve seen so much. If that person would’ve gotten into the sanctuary it would’ve been a mass,” he said.
Finner also thanked the off-duty Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent and Houston police officer who were at the church when shots were fired and opened fire.
A motive is still not clear, but police said they believe Moreno acted alone. A dispute between Moreno and her ex-husband’s family, some of whom are Jewish, may be related to the shooting, Houston Police Cmdr. Chris Hassig said in a news briefing last week.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
