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Mock Kidnapping Brings Charges Against Youth Pastor

A Pennsylvania youth pastor and his church were charged with assault and false imprisonment after staging a mock kidnapping of a group of teens, according to The Christian Post. Andrew Jordan, 28, a youth pastor at Glad Tidings Assembly of God, staged the kidnapping with the intent of teaching the students about Christian persecution around the world. Teens were taken at gunpoint (all were unloaded—one carried an AK-47) into a van, their heads were covered, and they were driven to the youth pastor’s home, where they found him “covered in blood.” One 14-year-old female student was reportedly “terrified” and filed a complaint against the pastor and the church. “Why not tell us it was a joke?” the girl told local news outlets.

Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico called it “a sad case for all those involved,” although he allowed that the intentions of the youth pastor were good. The church’s senior pastor, John Lanza, said the event was staged “to illustrate what others have encountered on a regular basis.” Deputy District Attorney Fran Chardo said false imprisonment of a child is a felony carrying a penalty of up to ten years in prison. An investigation of the incident is continuing.