Holding a sign stating, “Are YOU Going to Heaven? FIND OUT HERE! 2 QUESTION TEST,” Brother Paul McKeon, a nondenominational Christian preacher for Good News Network Ministries, sat outside Mercer’s Student Center for several hours before leaving at roughly 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 5.
McKeon sat and waited for students and faculty to initiate a conversation with him.
When asked what the two questions were, McKeon said the first was, “If you died right now, do you believe you’d go to heaven?” and the second was, “If you were in front of God and he asked you why you should be let into heaven, what would you say?”
McKeon said that when he preaches to students, 99.9% walk past him, but he waits for “divine appointments,” or meetings with people chosen by God.
During the conversation, an associate of McKeon’s joined him. Upon his arrival, McKeon began looking toward him after each question and from then on responded with short answers.
One campus passerby was followed into the building by McKeon.
Upon his return, McKeon said, “It seemed like [that man] wanted to find The Word.”
Yet, when asked, the person shrugged and described their interaction, saying, “It was interesting … just interesting.”
According to McKeon, people who know scripture from the Bible are destined for heaven.
He explained that a person who is going to heaven is someone who knows the scripture Romans 10:9-10: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
McKeon said his motivation for preaching is simple: “I [go to campuses] to spread the gospel because we’re all going to die.”
He added, “I pray to God to know where I’m meant to go, and I hope he sends people to me who need to hear the word.”
McKeon said he has visited many colleges, including Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and James Madison University.
While some students took quick glances at McKeon, Icyss Bracewell, a third-year fashion design major and president of Rainbow Alliance, responded with eye rolls and sighs upon hearing of McKeon’s arrival.
Bracewell said, “I’d just ask [McKeon] where he thinks he’s gonna end up. He shouldn’t be telling people where they’re going to end up if he doesn’t know them personally.”
This is not the first time a preacher has come to Mercer’s campus. A few years ago, a pastor named Aden Rusfeldt showed up with a bullhorn and two followers carrying signs about hellfire and damnation. He yelled at students and staff for several hours, focusing particularly on women being “whores” and gay people being damned. MCCC’s Rainbow Alliance responded by blasting queer anthems and dancing to drown him out.
Christopher Rowe, a Security Officer III at Mercer, said, “[McKeon] asked us for permission before he sat out there.”
Rowe added, “As long as he isn’t forcing people to speak to him or bothering anyone, he’s allowed to be here. It’s the law.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misidentified the person who spoke to McKeon as Daniel Calandro, a library specialist at Mercer.
