Free Chapel Pastor Jentezen Franklin was recently diagnosed positive for COVID-19.
Free Chapel, a mega-church in Gainesville, Atlanta, on Dec, 20 revealed that Pastor Jentezen Franklin was diagnosed positive for COVID 19. Reports say that the prominent pastor underwent the test after getting in contact with a church associate who turned out to be positive.
During the Sunday Service, Free Chapel Pastor Javon Ruff made the announcement to the whole congregation and assured everyone that Franklin was actually doing great, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. He added that the church leader is currently manifesting only mild symptoms of the coronavirus infection.
Free Chapel also announced that it will move its 2020 Christmas Eve candlelight services online to protect the congregation from the increasing number of COVID-19 infected cases in Atlanta.
"We hope you have a special and meaningful Christmas this year with your family," Tracy Page, executive pastor of the Free Chapel said, Christian Headlines reported. "This will be a Christmas like no other for so many people, but Jesus is still the light of the world."
Days before the announcement of his diagnosis, Pastor Jentezen Franklin, an official evangelical adviser to President Donald Trump, attended a Christmas party at the White House. The prominent pastor posted photos and videos of the said event on his Instagram account on Dec. 15 although the exact date of the party remained undisclosed.
In a written statement, a Free Chapel spokesperson clarified that his COVID-19 diagnosis had nothing to do with his appearance at the White House Christmas party. The statement explained that on Dec. 17, Franklin was exposed to one of the congregation's associates who later turned out to be positive for the coronavirus infection.
The statement further said the infected leader has been self-isolating since the test. He continues to manifest mild symptoms of the infection although according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms may appear from two up to 14 days after exposure. The spokesperson assured that the pastor continues to abide by his physician's instructions as well as the CDC rules and guidelines in handling the infection.
The Christmas party posted on his Instagram account on Dec. 15 was not the prominent pastor's first appearance at the White House. He is a frequent guest of the place being the president's evangelical adviser.
This is also not the first time that Franklin was exposed to people infected with the disease. In May, he had to undergo a test after a number of people attending an event with him at the White House were tested positive for COVID-19.
Rev. John I. Jenkins, University of Notre Dame President and Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship and President Donald Trump were among those who were diagnosed with COVID-19 after attending a White House Rose Garden ceremony.
After testing negative after the exposure, Franklin went to Twitter to encourage everyone to pray for the people who caught what he called "the real disease, the very deadly disease of COVID-19." He also said he had to undergo the test out of an abundance of caution being there at the event praying for the POTUS before the program started.
