The #WeRespond movement is inspired by the events of October 21, 2018 when an armed gunman randomly took the lives of two African American victims shopping in the Kroger Grocery Store on Taylorsville Rd in Louisville, Ky. We discovered later that the suspected gunman had also tried to enter First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown just moments before heading toward Kroger. While no harm befell our church, we realize that we were a potential target for this hate crime. In the weeks since, First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown has seen such an outpouring of love from others, and attention from media all around the world, that we couldn’t help but to act. We, as a church want to take the opportunity to encourage unity with other congregations that worship God in the city of Jeffersontown and the greater Louisville area. We also seek to educate others on matters of church security, especially those with less resources than we have. Equally important, we would like to work together to develop programs for both our church and our community to reach out to youth and young adults - to give them a safe place to participate in wholesome, educational activities. We seek to honor the families of Maurice E. Stallard & Vickie Lee Jones, while showing the world that this church, and the Rock that it was built on will not only survive, but we will thrive! The #WeRespond event will take place on Sunday, December 2nd, at 4:00PM at the church, with a reception/fellowship immediately following. The event will feature pastors, community leaders, political representatives, public officials, music aggregations, representatives from other faiths, Kroger representatives, and family members of the victims.