The Pentecostals of Gainesville opened their church doors and their wallets after fellow United Pentecostal Church International congregation Avoyelles House of Mercy lost five children in a tragic church van crash last week.
Gainesville Pastor Jim Toney shared that his church had chosen to buy the burial plots for the children killed in the fiery car crash that made international headlines. The church is also collecting money for the victims’ families.
The congregation also hosted a “Night of Hope and Healing” on Jan. 6.
“The bad news is we lost five beautiful lives last Thursday,” Toney said from the pulpit. “The bad news, families are forever altered. The bad news, people are truly hurting and carrying unfathomable pain, but the good news is, God’s going to keep doing business with us. It’s imperative that you keep doing business with God.
“We wanted to do this night of hope and healing, a time that we could gather together not only as a community but with this family and ask God to help us make sense of this horrible situation,” Toney continued.
Watch the video for the full evening. The sermon begins at the hour mark.
You can also click here to watch the video.
Ron Allen 
Eddie Hyatt 
Michael L. Brown