Message from President Hogue on the Evergreen High School Shooting and Assassination of Charlie Kirk

Posted on September 12, 2025

Message from President Hogue on the Evergreen High School Shooting and Assassination of Charlie Kirk

This has been a week of grief and reflection for our University community, and I want to pause to acknowledge and honor how we have walked through it together.

Close to home, our hearts are heavy with the tragic events at Evergreen High School. Members of the CCU family were directly touched: faculty and staff with children enrolled there, current CCU students serving as student teachers, and many alumni among both students and staff who once called Evergreen home. We continue to lift in prayer the victims, their families, and the entire Evergreen community. I am deeply grateful for the efforts of our Office of Student Life, School of Education, University Counseling Center, Campus Ministries, and Residence Life, who have rallied to care for and protect our community during this time.

We also mourn the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk and extend our deepest condolences to his family. Charlie lived out his Christian walk with courage and conviction, integrating his faith in Jesus into every aspect of life. He was a steadfast advocate for free speech and conservative values, and we deplore the violence that cut his life short. Colorado Christian University was privileged to welcome Charlie to our campus in 2013, as well as at many Western Conservative Summits over the last decade. His courage to proclaim the Gospel and to speak openly in the public square will not be forgotten. Let us be clear: violence has no place in our society. It is never the way to resolve disagreements or disputes.

Greg Schaller, Director of the Centennial Institute, our public policy think tank, has eloquently written about Charlie's legacy and the path forward for our society. I encourage you to take a moment to read his reflections here.

Yesterday, on September 11, I was honored to join the prayer vigil hosted by the Centennial Institute in partnership with the Student Senate. Together, we remembered that solemn day in American history, lifted up the victims of the Evergreen tragedy, and honored the memory of Charlie Kirk while interceding for his family. These moments remind us that we live in a fallen world, desperately in need of Christ's redemption, healing, and peace.

Yet through it all, I could not be prouder of the CCU community. From moments of silent reflection in chapel, to the public vigil, to the quiet and unseen ways you have supported one another - you have demonstrated what it means to bring our burdens before the Lord. This is what it looks like to live out our mission: to stand for grace and truth, to pursue persuasion over coercion, and to carry one another's burdens in prayer.

As we move forward, I challenge us all to live out our faith with boldness:

• Reach out to classmates, colleagues, and neighbors who may be struggling.
  Scripture calls us to "bear one another's burdens" (Galatians 6:2) and reminds us that "two are better than one… if either of them falls down, one can help the other up" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). In times of crisis, community brings healing.
• Participate in acts of service and kindness that reflect Christ's love.
  Jesus said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). Service-comforting the grieving, extending grace, and meeting needs-is the Gospel made visible.
• Engage in thoughtful dialogue about how we can better care for one another.
  Paul exhorts us to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) and to use our words to build up others (Ephesians 4:29). Grace-filled conversations strengthen unity.
• Continue praying for peace and healing in our schools and communities.
  We are told to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), knowing that "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). Prayer is not passive-it actively invites God's kingdom into our broken world.
• Practice the ministry of presence.
  Romans 12:15 calls us to "rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Sometimes the most powerful witness is simply showing up, embodying Christ's faithfulness when words fall short.

May God continue to comfort the grieving, strengthen the weary, and draw us ever closer to Him.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Eric Hogue, M.Th.
President, Colorado Christian University