*A beloved Michigan pastor and father of 9 died this week from complications of COVID-19. He was 59.
David Ford, who led the Friendship House of Prayer in Lansing for several years, tested positive for COVID-19 in late March, and stayed at the Beaumont Hospital for seven days. Once he started to feel better, Ford was sent home and had been celebrating his recovery.
On Sunday, Pastor Ford spoke to his congregation from home, but his family said that earlier this week, he started feeling ill again and passed away due to COVID-19 complications, Christian Post reports.
“He wanted to share his story so people will know what it was like to battle this virus and not lose faith,” said Lansing Mayor Andy Schor.
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“He was an extraordinary person, a lovable person who harbored no ill will to anyone,” said Bishop David Maxwell. “His smile was contagious.” Adding, “He was excited, as ever, looking forward to preaching the gospel and thankful to be home.”
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Pastor Ford of Friendship House of Prayer. He was a wonderful friend to me and the city of Lansing. I spoke with him just last week and he shared an incredible story as a survivor of COIVD-19. The passing of Pastor Ford is a tremendous loss to the church, to me personally as a friend and to the city of Lansing. My thoughts are with him, his family, his friends and his congregation during this difficult time,” Schor said in a statement on Facebook Thursday.
Ford’s cousin, JoAnn Bell, noted on Facebook that he “was really somebody.”
“Please pray for David’s Wife Cassandra Ford and the Entire Ford Family ……….Our Cousin Pastor David Ford made his Transition yesterday to be with the Lord, he surely earned his wings a long time ago, …however, we just wasn’t ready for him to leave us so soon,” she posted on Wednesday. “If you really knew Pastor David Ford, you couldn’t help but LOVE HIM AS WHO HE WAS…. and how he loved the Lord, his wife, his children, and his family and church family, & friends. He could really sing and play that piano/ organ, and preaching under the anointing of God. He was really somebody. Please lift his wife up in prayer as she loved her husband tremendously! My heart is broke into pieces!”
Pastor Ford leaves behind his wife, 9 brothers and sisters and 8 children.
