Megachurch founder IV Hilliard says ‘I love my wife’ after she reveals bruised head
Megachurch Pastor I.V. Hilliard, who co-founded New Light Church in Houston, Texas, urged his congregation Sunday not to trust the "tabloid, online stuff" and declared that "I love my wife" after she shared "disturbing posts" online, including a photo of a hematoma she says was caused by bumping her head on a shower door.
The public debate about the health of his wife, Pastor Bridget Hilliard, was triggered by the recent posting of the photo of her bruised head on Instagram. The original post about the "traumatic incident" she suffered on Aug. 18 has since been deleted, but screenshots of the post are still being shared online.
"In [a] situation like this, I want to thank everybody for [your] prayers. Don't try to trust the tabloid, online stuff for your information. That's just speculation. You've got to trust the proven voices that you've heard over the years. Let me say it again. I love my wife," Hilliard told the congregation that he passed on to his daughter, Pastor Irishea Hilliard, in 2018.
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"I know, the family loves Bridget. And we know the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much. So we know we'll get through this, and we see victory on the other side," he said. "I want to say, don't let the devil make you think you got to take sides. … You don't have to take sides. There's no side to take because you don't have enough information."
In the initial post made by Bridget Hilliard, she revealed that after she suffered a "traumatic incident" on Aug. 18, she was advised by her therapist to travel to a home in Florida on Sept. 7.
She was accompanied by four women "who witnessed the traumatic incident to see if any severe excruciating debilitating pain would occur."
Bridget Hilliard, 68, further noted that she is now "a permanent resident of Florida."
Her sudden decision to make Florida her permanent home, as well as the timing of the traumatic incident, occurred around the same time that New Light Christian Center listed an estate spanning 24 acres and six separate homes, and served as the founders' residence, with a price tag of $15 million.
Some people, like well-known black church blogger Ann Brock, speculated that Bridget Hilliard's post could be a sign of domestic abuse, while others, such as online talk show host Larry Reid of "Larry Reid Live," have speculated she was struggling with mental health issues.
Before his public statement to the church on Sunday, Hilliard wrote an internal email to New Light Church pastors that was shared online by "Larry Reid Live" claiming that his wife is struggling with an issue that is both medical and spiritual in nature.
"I'm writing to share that we, the family, have concerns about Pastor Bridget's well-being. We are actively and prayerfully seeking both medical assistance and spiritual intervention to help her during this challenging time. I am equally alarmed by the disturbing posts that are totally out of character for her," Hilliard claimed in the letter.
"As a result of the posting, many of you have reached out to me and others," he said before asking them to join him on a period of seven days of prayer and fasting.
A link to a video on YouTube that Bridget Hilliard shared along with her initial post about the hematoma "dispelling the lies that have been told" has also been removed.
She suggested in the initial post that since the "traumatic incident," she has gotten help to manage both anxiety and physical pain.
"I never thought I needed a therapist; however, I thank God for Dr. Dre, he taught me how to verbalize the traumatic incident without reliving it," Bridget Hilliard said. "I did an updated CT scan (Thursday September 5, 2024) to rule out a concussion, and the ER on call Dr. was amazed at the scan and says you have a perfect brain for research, it looks like the brain of a 40 year old."
In his comments on Sunday, Hilliard said he wrote a letter to the congregation prior to the service to provide additional context.
"I wrote the letter so everybody could kind of get an understanding. We are in a situation where [we are] under spiritual attack, but we understand how to fight. All my life I never thought I'd be in this kind of fight, but we win," Hilliard said. "Now when we say we win, I'm not talking about I win, but we win. Our family comes together. That's what our prayer is."
When The Christian Post reached out to the church on Monday and asked for additional context, a spokesperson who did not disclose her identity said the church would not provide any additional comment.
It is unclear how many members the 38-year-old megachurch still has, but in 2018, New Light Church boasted more than 20,000 members.
I.V. Hilliard claimed the struggle his family is facing is complex and asked members to continue supporting the church led by his daughter.
"There's a lot of layers to this that we can't publicly talk about. There are a lot of layers to this that right now, we just have to handle them in an organized way. When you're in the state, and you're under the laws, you have to do things in a certain way. You just can't haul off," he said.
"What we all need to do now to whip the devil is to rally around the vision of this church and the vision of our pastor," he said to cheers. "Whatever personally is going on in my life has nothing to do with our pastor and nothing to do with the assignment on the church."
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