Making sense of Las Vegas, we talk to a faith-based group about finding hope

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) –  Two days since the tragedy we’re seeing stories of heroism and support for those families and victims. The people of Vegas, Nevada and the nation want to make sense of why a 64 year old man would open fire on a crowd of festival goers.

Will that good outweigh the questions we all have which is why did this happen?

We took that question to groups preparing a message of hope.

“There is no logical reason why a human being would do this,” says Port City Community Church co-founder Mike Ashcraft.

Making sense of a senseless attack like Las Vegas is not easy. Finding a message of hope after will be pastor Ashcraft’s job.

“Against all odds you’ve got to hold on to something. You’ve got to hold onto something that’s actually going to bring you what you’re looking for. To me that is one of the great messages that the gospel brings to us.”

Ashcraft and his fellow pastors will talk to more than five thousand Port City Community Church members by the end of the week. Providing a message of light in the darkness.

“We get to be a part of bringing redemption and hope, and I believe healing through the way we treat each other the way we move in each others lives and in situations like this,” says Ashcraft.

Sharing this advice for those feeling helpless and hurt by the constant images seen on TV, he still wants people to face what happened.

“You’ve got to allow yourself to feel it. You’ve got to allow yourself to grieve over it. You’ve got to wrestle with it hard, because otherwise you just keep a distance and pretend we live in this, you know Wilmington it’s all safe here and reality is anything can happen anywhere,” he says.

But to come out of it seeing the good; the donor lines, the memorials, and the stories of those lives saved.

“The way that people tend to come together and to mobilize, I think is the story that is worth telling and it’s where we can take a great deal of peace and comfort and hope to really move forward.”

There are some that would say prayers and vigil’s are not enough, well there is a GoFundMe account that was started by the county commission chair there in Las Vegas to help victims. It has reached more than $8 million.

“I think that the idea of hope, and it’s really the message that we preach. What we bring to this, is that we don’t lose heart,” says Ashcraft.