A video clip captured at True Vine Apostolic Church of Christ went viral for featuring a pregnant Christian teenager apologizing to her congregation. The young lady is encouraged in the clip to offer her public apology by Bishop Terry W. Jackson. Jackson tells her how to stand before she gave a quick apology and revealed she was pregnant. The pastor then stated he supported the young lady before going on to admonish her for doing the right thing instead of waiting.
According to The Christian Tribune, the girl said, “I want to apologize to everybody in here because I am pregnant. I’m sorry y’all,” wiping away a wave of tears. “I just hope that y’all forgive me.” The pastor responded by saying, “If you sin, you don’t wait no two, three, you don’t wait ‘til the baby come to repent. You repent now.” The congregation then shouted their agreement with a series of “Amen.” He then encouraged the girl to make serious long-term changes to her life.
“You just don’t do it again. She already knows what time it is. The church is praying for you. We ain’t goin’ condone your sin now. We ain’t goin’ do that. Ain’t no baby showers going on. That’s what you lose out on,” he remarked, drawing attention to the dangers of teen pregnancy. He said “When you have a baby out of wedlock, ain’t no showers. And nobody at this church ‘bout to attend one. Momma shouldn’t have one neither. You got to take care of your granddaughter, but you can’t condone sin.”
The video went viral on social media. Jemele Hill, sports reporter and podcaster, shared the footage to her nearly 860,000 followers. She said “A Virginia pastor made a teenage girl stand up before the congregation to apologize for being pregnant. I have a lot of thoughts but I’m going to let y’all have it. But I’ll just say this: The only person who should be ashamed in this scenario is the pastor. I hope she finds a new church home.”
A social media user offered to host a baby shower for the young woman, telling her that her child would be “celebrated and loved.” Critics of the video noted how the practice isn’t always applied in a fair way. Why wasn’t the man who got her pregnant in the first place also up in front of the church supporting her and admitting his own share in the act that led to the pregnancy.
Leonard King replied to clip saying, “Lastly, if the woman were to stand there the man should have to. Time to stop the oppression of our women by shaming them and giving the man a slap on the wrist. Get right church and let’s go home. Because this definitely was not it. Now we wonder why so many people are leaving the faith. It’s because of things like this. Prayers for this whole situation!”
In a move that might shock others, the girl’s mother fully supports the actions taken by the pastor.
“You are showing up disrupting my church, my beliefs, and disrespecting my pastor. I am where I want to be and where I chose to be. We were not forced or manipulated to stand before the congregation. My daughter willingly approached the congregation and was welcomed and embraced with open arms,” she stated. “I stand on what I have been taught, and I’m raising my daughter to do the same. I stand with my pastor!”