Testimonies
Stories from pastors who carry.
The call to ministry. The weight of the carry. The moment they became a shepherd — and stayed one. Read from the men behind the pulpit.
Grace Ridge Fellowship · Tennessee
Pastor Micah Reeves
"I got my carry permit the same year I got ordained. Some folks called it a contradiction. I called it Nehemiah 4."
I grew up in a house where faith and firearms lived on the same shelf. My father was a deacon and a hunter — the men in my church were farmers, tradesmen, veterans. Nobody thought twice about it.
Then a shooter walked into a Sunday service two counties over. Seven of the sheep didn't go home that day. That week I sat in my study and read Nehemiah — a man rebuilding the wall with a trowel in one hand and a sword at his belt. I understood.
I don't preach with a gun. I preach with a Bible. But I carry one so that if the wolf ever tries to enter this door, he'll meet a shepherd — not a bystander.
New Covenant Church · Detroit
Pastor Isaiah Booker
"I planted a church on a block where kids got shot walking home. Ministry here means being present — all the way."
I was a corrections officer before I was a pastor. I saw men come out of prison who had never once been told they were loved. That's what pulled me into ministry.
But the neighborhood I planted in didn't stop being dangerous the day I hung a cross on the door. My people needed a shepherd who could look them in the eye and say 'I am not going anywhere' — and mean every layer of it.
I carry because my sheep asked me to. And because the man who stands at the door on Sunday is the same man who walked the yard on Monday. I don't get to leave that behind. I use it.
Iglesia La Fuente · New Mexico
Pastor Rafael Ortiz
"In my parish we say — el pastor cuida las ovejas. The shepherd guards the sheep. Every part of him."
My grandfather was a rancher and a lay minister. He'd tell me that a shepherd who runs from the wolf isn't a shepherd — he's just a man with a stick.
I never forgot that. I carry every Sunday. My congregation knows. My children know. My wife knows. Nobody is afraid of it — they're comforted by it, the way you're comforted knowing the smoke detector works.
PASTr Brand made me a hat I could wear behind the pulpit and behind the plate — and it feels like somebody finally understood the job.
Share your testimony
Are you a pastor who carries?
We want to hear your call — the moment you became a shepherd, and what it means to stand watch. Selected stories are featured on this page and in our newsletter.
