Matthew K. Thompson, 46, senior pastor of Jubilee Church, in Boston went viral for falling during his final sermon of 2018. (Matthew Thompson)
A Boston pastor went viral for taking a literal leap of faith during his final sermon of the year and landing flat on his head.
Matthew K. Thompson, 46, senior pastor of Jubilee Church, has been preaching to thousands at the largest church in New England for over 18 years. But what happened on Sunday put him in front of millions of eyes when he failed at a jump on a mini-trampoline.
"It's funny," Thompson told Fox News. “I remember thinking to myself, O. M. G. and I land like right on my head…maybe like 800 people there. They just gasp and I’m just laying on the floor. So I just roll over and I say a righteous man falls and gets back up…so I got back and continued to preach.”
Matthew K. Thompson, the lead pastor of Jubilee Church in Boston, has been preaching for more than 18 years. (Jubilee Church)
The pastor, who played college basketball back in the day and continues to stay in shape, was not hurt, and the viral fall happened during his second of four services at two locations. By the time Thompson got home, the video had hundreds of thousands of views and his son, who was in New York City, called him and asked him what happened.
"I brought up a trampoline to demonstrate that you need the Power of God to help you get OVER IT!!!" Thompson wrote on Instagram. "WELL... AS YOU CAN SEE THE VIDEO HAS GONE VIRAL.... Just to let you know I got back up again and finished Preaching!!! 2019 is the year YOU WILL GET BACK UP AGAIN... AND GET OVER IT!!!"
Thompson said the Lord gave him the title "I'm over it" and the illustration of jumping over a hurdle, and throughout his sermon, the hurdle got higher and higher, until he couldn't jump over it on his own. The analogy was to show that at some point in our lives, we need help from God. Before he finished the sermon, he did successfully attempt the jump again to prove his point.
This wasn't the first stunt of its kind the pastor born and raised in Boston has done. He has preached on treadmills, jumped in and out of baptismals, and even had a giant trampoline the size of the stage before.
ADOPTED PASTOR EMBRACES, FORGIVES BIOLOGICAL FATHER: 'I PRAYED FOR THIS MOMENT'
“I use all types of methods to communicate the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ," Thompson said, adding that Jesus walked on water and did a lot of other things to communicate the gospel because there are multiple ways people learn.
His fall has received millions of views on social media and the pastor hopes it helps others.
Pastor Matthew K. Thompson went viral for a fall he took during his final sermon of 2018. (Jubilee Church)
"If, somehow, at the beginning of the year, my fall has brought someone laughter, then praise God," he said. "And I’m hoping that they could stop laughing long enough to hear the message that no matter what they’ve gone through or no matter how many times they’ve fallen, they can get back up again and trust God that he can help them get over it."
Thompson said every year the Lord gives him a theme for the year. Last year was "open heaven," but this year it's the year of miracles.
He added: "Whatever held you back in 2018, you're over it. With God's help, you can overcome anything."
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
