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Jarrid Wilson death: Harvest Church pastor dies by suicide


Jarrid Wilson
Associate Pastor Jarrid Wilson of Harvest Christian Fellowship dies by suicide. Pic credit: @itsjuliwilson/Instagram

Jarrid Wilson, an associate pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, died by suicide on Monday, September 9, at 30 years old.

Wilson, who co-founded the mental health outreach Anthem of Hope with his wife, Juli, in 2016, was known to church members as a compassionate preacher who was open about his personal struggles with depression.

Anthem of Hope focuses on fighting the stigma of mental illness and provides support for people struggling with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and addiction.

Harvest Christian Fellowship founder and senior pastor Greg Laurie announced Wilson’s death by suicide in a Facebook post.

“At a time like this, there are just no words,” Laurie wrote in his Facebook statement.

“Sometimes people may think that as pastors or spiritual leaders we are somehow above the pain and struggles of everyday people. We are the ones who are supposed to have all the answers. But we do not,” Laurie continued. “At the end of the day, pastors are just people who need to reach out to God for His help and strength, each and every day.”

Jarrid’s wife, Julianne Wilson, posted a tribute on Instagram.

“My loving, giving, kind-hearted, encouraging, handsome, hilarious, give the shirt of his back husband went to be with Jesus late last night,” she wrote.

“No more pain, my Jerry, no more struggle. You are made complete and you are finally free,” she continued. “Suicide and depression fed you the worst lies, but you knew the truth of Jesus and I know you’re by his side right this very second.”

Wilson died by suicide after he posted a series of tweets that focused on the subject of suicide and toxic relationships. In one of the tweets, he revealed that he was officiating the funeral of a woman who took her life. In another tweet, he said he was praying for the victims of the hurricane in the Bahamas.

https://twitter.com/JarridWilson/status/1171264413640249344

Wilson was open about his struggle with depression. He talked about it in a recent blog post titled Why Suicide Doesn’t Always Lead To Hell, and in a recently published book Love Is Oxygen: How God Can Give You Life and Change Your World.

He admitted in blog posts, books, and social media posts, that he struggled with depression most of his life and contemplated suicide multiple times. In the blog post Why Suicide Doesn’t Always Lead To Hell, he opposed the belief held by some Christians that people who committed suicide go to hell.

Ever since learning of Jarrid Wilson’s death, people have been paying tribute and offering condolences on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1171805288099385344

A friend, Jonathan Merritt, started a GoFundMe to provide financial support for his family. As of writing, the campaign had raised nearly $40,000 out of the target $50,000.

Wilson committed suicide on Monday evening (September 9), a day before World Suicide Prevention Day on Tuesday, September 10.

According to Laurie’s Facebook announcement, Jarrid is survived by his wife, Juli, two sons, Finch and Denham, his parents and siblings.

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