Uvalde Shooting, SBC Hotline, & Suicide Prevention Hotline

Pastors and counselors continue to work with the devastated families affected by the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Police confirm 19 children and two teachers were killed by an 18-year old gunman who was also killed by authorities.

Neftali Barboza is a local pastor and parent of a child who attends the school.

As soon as he heard emergency vehicles headed toward the school, he headed that direction. “I stayed and helped take care of the kids,” he said. “I let as many parents as I could know their child was safe. We were there an hour or two; I’m not really sure.”

As a parent and local pastor, Barboza has joined others trying to make sense of the shooting that claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults as well as left others in critical condition. Uvalde is a close-knit town full of people who stick together and pray for each other, he told Baptist Press. It’s the place where these kinds of things aren’t supposed to happen.

“My heart is broken,” he said. “I can only imagine what other families are going through.”

The shooting is the third deadliest on a school campus in the nation’s history, behind 33 killed at Virginia Tech University in 2007 and the 28 deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., in 2012.

The SBC Executive Committee has established a new hotline where people who have been abused by pastors or church leaders in Southern Baptist churches can call to receive care.

All of the information will be kept confidential. The hotline is overseen by Guidepost Solutions who recently completed an investigation of the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims with the SBC Executive Committee.

If you are/have been a victim of sexual abuse or suspect sexual abuse by a pastor, staff member or member of a Southern Baptist church or entity, please reach out for help at 202-864-5578 or mailto:[email protected]

Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was only recently established in 2005 and has received more than 20 million calls. Available 24 hours per day, seven days a week, for any age, including non-English speakers, calls are routed to the nearest crisis center based on the caller’s location. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can reach Lifeline via TTY by dialing 1-800-799-4889 or using the Lifeline Live Chat service online.

On July 16, 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 transitions to a number that will be easy to remember in an emergency – 988. Please save this in your contacts and encourage everyone in your community to do the same. Similar to dialing 911, a person will be able to simply dial 988 to get immediate help from the suicide prevention hotline.

Rates of depression and suicide are increasing in every age demographic, especially our young people, according to Jeremiah Johnston, a pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas.