Crossroads Christian Church sets up donation fund for victims of stabbing

SHAWNEE, Kan. (KCTV) - Members of a Shawnee family are now out of the hospital after a husband and father tried to kill his wife and children and burn down their family home.

Matthew Richards was a pastor at Crossroads Christian Church in Shawnee. He told police he committed the crimes because his family was about to be evicted from their house, and he didn’t want them to go through the trauma of the situation.

The church where Richards was a pastor has rallied around the family, and set up a fund to help Richards’ wife and children. The lead pastor at Crossroads Christian told KCTV5 members of the church wanted to help the family immediately.

“The Sunday after this happened, we take up the offering and there are a couple of checks with their name on it,” said Kurt Witten, the lead pastor at Crossroads Christian Church. “We just immediately the next day started an account and got the word out.”

Witten has been in touch with the family since the crime, but says the church doesn’t ask for daily updates on the family.

“They are currently staying with some extended family and they are on the road to improving,” said Witten. “It’s going to be little by little every day. We’re just praying that they take those daily steps day-by-day.”

The family, who was facing eviction, will now have to deal with medical bills – and several young children are involved.

“It’s been difficult,” Witten said. “It’s been tough, but we’ve also seen what the church is supposed to be. We’ve seen this church come together and just rally around us, rally around that family.”

While church leaders deal with grief of what has happened, they are turning to their faith for comfort.

“Things are going to be difficult in the days ahead. We don’t always know what tomorrow holds,” said Witten. “We don’t necessarily know what decision we’re going to have to make tomorrow or how hard that might be, but yet we know God’s got it. We know He is going to lead us through it.”

If you would like to donate to the Richards family fund, Crossroads Christian Church has set up an online donation portal.

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