First Baptist Orlando was to be one of 32 stops for the Make Heaven Crowded Tour, a gospel-centered gathering calling people to repentance, faith, and bold obedience to Jesus, according to the Turning Point USA website.
After ensuring the event would be about Jesus and not politics, the church's senior pastors agreed to host it. But Socrates Perez, who was a worship leader at the church's Horizon West campus, spoke out against the decision in an all-staff meeting and later resigned in protest.
Campus Pastor Chris Ogden reportedly remains on administrative leave for questioning the senior pastors' decision.
First Baptist Orlando did not return a call for comment, but a number of members of the Horizon West campus continue to express alarm over the way Perez and Ogden were treated.
The day after Senior Pastor David Uth had announced the tour stop for the first time, the church received a letter from Turning Point USA.
"After careful thought and prayerful consideration, we believe it is best at this time to withdraw this particular tour stop from your church's calendar," it read in part. "Please know this decision is made with respect and appreciation for your ministry. We remain thankful for the work you are doing and would welcome the opportunity to reconnect in the future."
Lucas Miles, senior director of TPUSA Faith, says things were more challenging than they would have liked.
"We want to make sure that churches are fully aligned with us when we do a stop like this," he tells AFN. "By the nature of the fact that the stop's not happening, there's probably things that people can glean from that."
Miles says the "Make Heaven Crowded" title was near to Charlie Kirk's heart.
"This was a phrase that Charlie and Erika had spoken to each other a lot, was kind of part of their mission for life," the director says.
Nearly six months after Kirk was gunned down at Utah Valley University, Miles says Turning Point USA still grieves the loss of its leader, but his assassination has welded the staff together.
"We are more united than we've ever been before," Miles reports. "Obviously, we wish Charlie was here to be part of this. In the aftermath of his assassination and martyrdom, it forced us to draw closer together, to really seek the Lord, to rally around each other."
The Make Heaven Crowded Tour is already underway and has stops planned through December.
