Pastor, congregation stop gunmen in church with prayer

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, February 22, 2023

A gang of armed young men who allegedly entered the All Creation Northview Holiness Family Church in Ferguson, Missouri, to commit a robbery, had their plans thwarted when the pastor and his congregation showered them with prayer.

Marquaello Futrell, the church’s pastor, who worked as a police officer for 10 years, told KSDK that the miraculous Holy Spirit arrest of the gunmen happened during the morning service on Sunday, which was broadcast on Facebook Live.

Futrell told KSDK that the ordeal began after a man who entered the church carrying two bags, began questioning the church’s children services director.

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“I immediately just had the hairs on the back of my neck I’m like, 'OK, something’s about to happen,'" he said.

Shortly after that, the four young men wearing masks entered the church.

“Me being a former police officer, I immediately noticed their waistbands, I’m like, 'There’s something there,'" he said.

Another member of the church would later see a member of the group drop a gun. Futrell said instead of scaring his congregation, he went on with his service as planned and alerted the police. He also directed church staff to move the children to safety and ensure that the faces of the men were recorded for evidence.

He then continued to worship and pray with his congregation until about the 54-minute point in the recording when he approached the group of young men sitting at the back of the church.

“What’s your name. In the purple, tell me your name,” Futrell began.

He then questioned the other men about their names and their reason for attending church that day.

“Who sent y’all here?” he asked. “Y’all just saw the church and decide to come? Talk to me.”

The pastor then encouraged his congregation to praise God for them attending the church, declaring: “I said, praise God that God sent them in here. That what the devil meant for evil, you messing with a Marquaello Antonio Futrell.”

He also made it clear he was aware they had initially come to the church with ill intent, but God was changing the “plot of the enemy.”

“Don’t you play with me. I still got a cop anointing and I still know what’s going on and I still know what’s about to happen. God’s about to change the plot of the enemy. Lift your voices and shout unto God for what he’s about to do,” he said.

He then asked the young men if he could pray for them and they agreed. The entire church quickly focused their attention on the men and prayed for them for several minutes.

When the prayer was over, Futrell made the men aware that they had entered a holy place.

“See that wasn’t so bad brothers. Thank y’all for letting us pray for you. And we’re thankful that for whatever reason, the Lord let y’all come here. That when you walked on the ground, you walked on Holy Ghost turf,” he said. “You stepped foot on All Creation parking lot. You encountered the move of the Holy Ghost and I just believe that you all will never be the same again.”

The Ferguson Police Department would later confirm that the four men left the church in a Black Dodge charger with tinted windows that day and they are still being investigated.

While All Creation Northview Holiness Family Church did not immediately respond to calls from The Christian Post on Wednesday, Pastor Futrell praised God for intervening in the moment during the service.

“I just heard the Lord say, this is what happens when you illegally trespass,” he said. “That when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard. The flood will never be greater than the standard.”