Navigating Grief and Tragedy with Unshakeable Faith

Life’s storms can be relentless, often bringing unthinkable tragedies that threaten to shatter our faith. How do you find the strength to trust God when everything you know is crumbling around you? Pastor Elliot, a minister who has faced devastating personal losses, including the murder of his stepson and his father’s passing, shares his powerful testimony of how a deep, life-changing relationship with God carried him through his deepest sorrows and empowered him to endure every storm.

From Education to the Call of Full-Time Ministry

Before answering his call to ministry, Elliot served in education as an athletic director, safety director, and coach at Kepler school, which began with 169 kids at Cornerstone Church. He recounts how he and the superintendent prayed over two potential locations, and the current school building stands where their hands lay in prayer. This early experience solidified his belief that God shows you over and over that He is real, if you believe.

Drawing a parallel to Gideon, who tested God with a fleece for confirmation, Elliot openly discusses asking God for signs. He shares a personal moment when God spoke into his spirit, telling him to leave his lucrative education career for full-time ministry. Initially resistant due to financial concerns, Elliot prayed for confirmation. His wife soon landed her dream job, signaling God’s provision.

A dramatic incident involving a six-foot snake at the school door, followed by an unexpected shake-up in the administration, solidified God’s command to leave. He quit his job, trusting that God would take care of his finances, a decision that immediately opened the door to his next calling.

Called to Lead Worship and Preach Unfiltered Truth

The very day Elliot left his job, a friend called him, asking him to lead worship at a new church. The friend revealed he had prayed for a worship leader and Elliot had appeared in his dream. This divine confirmation led Elliot to become a worship leader, singing for the first time in this capacity.

His gifts soon extended beyond music. He was invited to be an associate pastor in Selma, where he delivered his first sermon to a packed house of former teachers, principals, and community members. Elliot recalls being asked to "soften" his message, but he refused, explaining that God made him to be "real, raw, and authentic." He believes softening God’s word prevents genuine transformation, merely seeking to fill churches rather than lead people to repentance and freedom.

You're not going to shoot. This is why people don't change. That's why they stay the same. It doesn't get better because you've given them this cookie. Sugar sugar. Tony Robbins motivation. Exactly. But it's nothing really. Let's go hit change transformation.

His sermon on jealousy illustrated how negative emotions lead to a domino effect of destruction, sharing the tragic story of a former student whose sister murdered her and her three-month-old baby out of jealousy. The conviction of God, he says, was palpable in the room, confirming his commitment to preaching unadulterated truth.

Birthing a Church: Fulfilling a Prophecy

Years before his passing, Elliot’s father repeatedly prophesied that his son would start his own church. Elliot couldn't grasp the idea at the time, but the words stuck with him. His father’s passing two years ago, after two cardiac arrests and a month-long hospital stay during which Elliot prayed, read scripture, and sang by his bedside, became the catalyst for fulfilling that prophecy.

Elliot recounts the miraculous journey after his father's cardiac arrest. His flight to Chicago cost a mere 118 dollars, a testament to God's provision. Despite his father being in a coma with a two percent chance of recovery, Elliot declared a miracle, and his father awoke. He was strong, even punching a nurse who touched him inappropriately, a sign of his spirit. However, an infection led to his decline.

In his father's final moments, Elliot whispered words of peace, assuring him that he was in God's hands and did not need to hold on for his son. His father passed away the next day. Immediately after the funeral, while in Chicago, Elliot felt "the lights came on," a spiritual knowing that he had to start his own church. The name "God Over Everything" was imparted to him during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he and his wife ministered in homes, masked and gloved, praying for the sick.

Walking with the Wise: Practical Faith in Action

Elliot emphasizes the importance of immersing oneself in God’s word for understanding, not just memorization. He shared how the scripture "Walk with the wise, become wise" became profoundly real to him. This phrase resonated as God began to align opportunities for his ministry and the church building.

• He connected with individuals in real estate to help secure a church building.
• He met a gentleman with six businesses who offered to write him a grant.
• He collaborated with a buddy to establish a men’s home under the God Over Everything ministry, with plans for multiple houses.

These connections were not random; they were God bringing things to remembrance that Elliot had read in scripture. This, he explains, is the Holy Spirit at work, bringing understanding and application, which is true wisdom.

Finding Strength Amidst Unthinkable Losses