Impact of Charlie Kirk’s death felt in Lubbock as churches see more younger people attending

The Sunday after Charlie Kirk was gunned down in Utah, Pastor Jason Burden saw about 30 new – and young – faces at First Baptist Church on Broadway.

“We welcomed a number of people, fresh faces that were moved uniquely by Charlie’s death,” Burden said.  

“I really think that they were truly seeking to process their grief and add some purpose to the pain that they were feeling. And attending church service was the most obvious answer for the visitors that came to our church,” Burden said.  

Many of the new visitors were either the right age to be Texas Tech students, or perhaps recent graduates, according to Burden.  

LubbockLights.com reached out to multiple churches. Most didn’t call back. But in one case, a staff member who did not have permission to talk to the media said there was “a little step up” in attendance the Sunday after Kirk’s shooting death.  

Church attendance is one example of the impact of Kirk’s death in Lubbock.

• Lubbock made national news when police officers arrested Tech student Camryn Giselle Booker on campus for a Class C misdemeanor assault. That was on September 12 – two days after Kirk was killed. Students had gathered to honor Kirk when Booker was shown on video taunting them and saying, “Y’all homie dead.”
• The temporary removal of Jimmy Kimmel Live from KAMC, Lubbock’s ABC affiliate, drew a strong reaction, both for and against, after Kimmel made controversial comments about the shooting. We covered the issue here.
• With a full auditorium, Trinity Church held a memorial for Kirk one week after his murder, with more than 15,000 video views of the event on the church’s Facebook page. The church later estimated more than 2,500 people attended in person. Speakers included Mayor Mark McBrayer.
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his plan to speak at an event of the Texas Tech chapter of Turning Point USA. TPUSA is the organization Kirk founded.  The event is on October 7 at Cook’s Garage. “I am honored to get to stand with these Red Raiders and encourage them to fearlessly champion their conservative values,” Paxton said.  

Outrage, getting involved

“The most common expression that I’ve heard is outrage – just anger about what had happened, the way it happened in such a public venue,” Burden said.  

“You would think an event like this would cause Christians to shrink back into the corner,” Burden said. 

Quite the opposite, he said, “It makes them eager to get out in public and share more earnestly where they stand.” 

Christians should get involved in democracy, government and public discourse, Burden said. But then sometimes the response is an allegation of Christian nationalism.  

“I too struggle with that term, ‘Christian nationalism.’ It seems like a, a hammer that is used against people within the Christian community that would like to see Christian values protected,” Burden said.  

He said Christians should speak for the rights of unborn children and for marriage between one man and one woman.  

As a Baptist, Burden strongly emphasized the need for separation of church and state – saying heinous things happen when governments set up a national church.  

“We can have a democracy that protects the things that Christians value but also protects the rights of those who are not within the Christian community,” Burden said.  

“I believe firmly that we’re all free people, free to choose our particular path,” Burden said. 

All that can be done in a democratic process.  

Burden thinks the impact will go way beyond Lubbock.  

“It’s amazing how many students here at Texas Tech were moved – grieved by his death. But the outpouring of love for the Kirk family from here has just been absolutely tremendous,” Burden said.  

“I know that from Charlie Kirk’s death forward, there’s been a resurgence of interest in Christianity. There’s certainly been a resurgence of enthusiasm amongst Christians about their personal faith.” 

Charlie Kirk at a glance

Charles James Kirk, born in 1993, was founder and president of Turning Point USA, “a national student movement dedicated to empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government.” 

TPUSA has chapters with more than 3,000 high schools or colleges according to its website.  

Kirk hosted a podcast and authored four books.   

The TPUSA website said, “Charlie’s social media platforms reached over 100 million people per month, and Axios listed him among the ‘top 10 most engaged’ accounts in the world. He hosted The Charlie Kirk Show podcast, which surpassed 120 million downloads in a single year and consistently ranked in the top 10 on Apple News podcast charts.” 

But not without controversy.  

GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group, condemned political violence but also said of Kirk, “It is also a demonstrable fact that Charlie Kirk spread infinite amounts of disinformation about LGBTQ people.” 

Tyler James Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder. There were indications in national news media reports Robinson was at odds with Kirk’s position on transgender issues. Prosecutors said publicly they intend to seek the death penalty against Robinson.  

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