Near Tragedy Takes Family's Faith to New Heights

Bishop Kim Brown of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia, is counting his blessings after his family survived a frightening plane incident.

The twin engine Cessna suffered a blown engine in mid-air. The pilot was able to safely land the plane and everyone got out without a scratch.

The family says the experience has taken their faith to new heights.

The Mount

Bishop Brown knows what it's like to build a ministry. When he was installed as pastor in 1990, the church, also known as The Mount, had just 75 members.

"I would come to Bible study on Wednesday night and it would be three people," Brown recalled.

Since those early days, the church has grown to more than 9,000, with sister churches in North Carolina and Virginia.

Brown and his wife, Valerie, said trusting in the promises of God has kept them going in tough times.

"You got to give all the glory to God," his wife, who also serves as an elder, said. "That's just obviously the path that he had laid out for us."

A Test of Faith

On May 29, the couple's faith was tested as never before.

Brown's wife, daughter, son, daughter-in-law, and 3-year-old grandson boarded a small plane to attend the opening of a new church plant in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Fifteen minutes into the flight, they saw smoke coming from the left wing as the propeller stopped.

"We felt the bump and heard the boom and so obviously everybody knew something was going on," Valerie told CBN News.

One of the plane's engines had blown -- midflight.

Valerie managed to text her husband and asked him to pray. Pastor Brown, who was driving when the text came through, pulled over.

"For a split second I just got this visual of five caskets at the altar, and I'm thinking, 'Oh no!'" he said, admitting his prayer "was not deep."

"Lord that's my family," he prayed. "Guide the pilot, guide the plane, angels take care of my family."

About the same time, the pilot said he would attempt to return to the airport and land.

Still praying, Valerie and her family clung to the hope of a safe landing. Yet for a split-second, she too realized it might be the end.

"I said, 'Oh my God I can't believe that we could potentially go down or it can explode,' and I think that's what took me in my prayer moment," she recalled.

"And it was in that moment that I felt that peace that I prayed for and it was if God was sitting there himself, and I'm telling you, he said, 'It's going to be alright,'" she said.

A short time later, the pilot was able to land at the airport he'd taken off from. The family was shaken up but so thankful no one was hurt.

Tears of Joy

At the airport, the pastor and his family shared hugs and tears of joy and thankfulness.

"Let's go home...get in the living room and get on our knees as a family and thank God for the miracle of this day,'" he said.

The pilot shared that thanks. After 40 years of flying airplanes, he was delighted to be part of the miracle.

"It was like angels were just holding the plane up," he told the pastor.

Meanwhile, his wife said she's grateful for God's sovereign grace and encourages others to live a life of faith and purpose.

"Be sure you're prepared in moments like this so you're not afraid -- that you don't have to run to the altar and say, 'forgive me God.'"

"Say I love you to everyone you love and ask for forgiveness and live in the moment just as if it could be your last moment," she said, smiling.