During last week's 2023 G3 Annual Conference, hundreds of attendees were evacuated from the venue due to a bomb threat.
The report of the bomb threat took place last Friday prior to a screening of the film “The Essential Conference,” produced by Grace Productions, a ministry of Grace Community Church led by pastor John MacArthur.
“I was mic’d up and ready to go on to talk about the Essential Church movie, and a bomb threat came into the building. G3’s been evacuated. Interesting timing @JennaEllisEsq @ArlenysBuckelew,” Shannon Paul Halliday, the writer and director of “The Essential Church,” wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
I was mic’d up and ready to go on to talk about the Essential Church movie, and a bomb threat, came into the building. G3’s been evacuated. Interesting timing. @JennaEllisEsq @ArlenysBuckelew
— Shannon Paul Halliday (@sphalliday) September 23, 2023
According to Church Leaders, security later apprehended a male suspect and turned him over to the police.
Jenna Ellis, a lawyer for MacArthur and Grace Community Church, told Church Leaders, “I’m very glad to hear the situation was managed and everyone attending is safe. I hope G3 will afford Grace Productions another opportunity to show ‘The Essential Church’ movie because every Christian needs to see this important documentary and prepare to stand firm in the future for God against tyranny.
She added that the film “is also currently streaming on SalemNOW online.”
Pastor Carl A. Hargrove posted video footage of attendees singing hymns in the hotel lobby after they were evacuated from the convention center due to the bomb threat.
“There is a bomb threat at the Convention Center. Our evening was cut short #G32023. Many of us made our way back to the hotel lobby. Then we sang some praises to the Lord! God is always in control!” Hargrove wrote.
There is a bomb threat at the Convention Center. Our evening was cut short #G32023 . Many of us made our way back to the hotel lobby. Then we sang some praises to the Lord! God is always in control!  pic.twitter.com/Oc3Pxb2JTU
— Carl A. Hargrove (@CarlHargrove) September 23, 2023
Once the threat was removed, Pastor Josh Buice, the founder and president of G3 Ministries, thanked attendees for their patience on Friday night.
“I want to begin with an announcement just by thanking you for your patience as we dealt with an unfortunate situation last night with a threat that caused us to evacuate the building,” he said.
“Many of you experienced inconveniences and had to leave personal belongings and then, of course, the uncertainty of how we would start this day,” Buice added. “We want to thank you for working with us as we had to go through the entire night to secure the building.
Buice also asked attendees to pray about the “entire situation” and said they would be provided further details about the incident in an email.
“I just want to thank you again for the patience, and we want it to finish strong.”
“Many of us gathered in the Marriott lobby, and we were singing hymns to the Lord last night,” he continued. “This is a conference on the sovereignty of God. So, we should not be gripped by the fear of man or anything else. And so, in many ways, we saw this as a test last night, and it was a privilege just to be together with hundreds of brothers and sisters in Christ in the Marriott when everyone came to a standstill, and we were able to sing praises to God.”
The conference, which took place in Atlanta, Georgia, had over 8,000 people in attendance and featured a variety of speakers, including Paul Washer, Voddie Baucham, Steven Lawson, Justin Peters, Ken Ham, Phil Johnson, James White, James Coates, Virgil Walker, Darrell Harrison, Owen Strachan, Josh Buice, and more.
Photo Courtesy: ©Islandsend/Creative Commons
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
