The Rev. John Patrick Franklin dies in apparent hunting accident
January 04, 2011 Times Picayune
Submitted by N.O.V.A.


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The Rev. John Patrick Franklin, pastor of Journey Christian Church in Jefferson, died in an apparent hunting
accident Thursday near Bastrop, Texas. He was 40.

The Rev. Franklin was found in a deer stand with a single gunshot wound to the face and head, said his wife,
Penny. She said authorities told her it appeared he was trying to take off a utility belt when his rifle
fired unexpectedly. Authorities in Bastrop said the death is still not officially classified because their
investigation is not complete.

The Franklins were called to Journey, a small Christian church in Jefferson of fewer than 100 members, in
the spring of 2009, Penny Franklin said.

Her husband, a singer-songwriter who wanted to be a preacher from childhood, was a church planter who spent
much of his short career launching new congregations in Texas, she said.

Pastor Franklin thrived working with almost nothing in the way of material resources, she said.

The year after their marriage in 2002 they founded a church in a borrowed barroom in Katy, Texas, holding
Sunday morning services from the main stage, with members sitting on barstools and at tables, she said. The
children’s ministry was in a borrowed movie theater next door.

The Franklins came to Jefferson and were building that congregation, Peggy Franklin said. Her husband was a
fearless scrounger in the service of his start-up churches. She recalled that the baptismal pool at Journey
is fashioned around a large cast-off aquarium the Rev. Franklin acquired from a nearby restaurant.

The Rev. Franklin grew up in the Fort Worth area and graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University. He also
attended Southwest Theological Seminary.

Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Jordan; a son, John Patrick II; his parents, Louie and Nita
Franklin of North Richland Hills, Texas; and a brother, Joseph, of Brownwood, Texas.

Funeral services are Wednesday in North Richland Hills.

A memorial service will be conducted at Journey Christian Church in Jefferson on Sunday at 10 a.m.