Indiana pastor remarries after his first wife was tragically murdered during a botched home invasion two years ago
- Davey Blackburn, the founder of Resonate Church, married Kristi Monroy at Laurel Hall in Indianapolis on Sunday
- He wrote on Instagram: 'Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? 'I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert'
- His first wife, Amanda, was tragically killed when three men entered the unlocked door to the home the couple shared
- Amanda, who was 12 weeks pregnant at the time, was shot in the head and later died from her wounds; she was defending their 1-year-old son, Watson
- Monroy and Blackburn met at a CrossFit gym in September 2016 and he proposed to her on November 8
- She has a daughter named Natalia from a previous relationship
An Indiana pastor whose first wife was tragically murdered in a 2015 home invasion has found a second chance at love and has remarried.
Davey Blackburn, the founder of Resonate Church who is known for his large social media following, married Kristi Monroy at Laurel Hall in Indianapolis this past Sunday.
In an Instagram post of the special day, he quoted the Book of Isaiah: 'Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
'I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.'
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Davey Blackburn and Kristi Monroy were married in Indianapolis, Indiana on Sunday. Blackburn, the founder of Resonate Church, lost his first wife, Amanda, in November 2015
Blackburn and Monroy (pictured together at a football game) met at a CrossFit gym in September 2016 and he proposed to her on November 8
Blackburn took this photograph of Monroy three days before they were married. He worried in the caption that he might find himself in the 'doghouse' after posting
Blackburn has a son from his previous marriage named Weston. Monroy has a daughter from a previous relationship named Natalia. The family -to-be recentlly dressed up as Gaines family from HGTV's Fixer Upper
The preacher had proposed to Monroy on November 8, meaning that their marriage proved to have quite a quick turnaround.
In a lengthy blog post detailing his and Monroy's relationship that he published on November 14, he described how they had met at his CrossFit gym in September 2016.
Monroy also came to his church, he later noticed. He gradually worked up the courage to talk to her, and they eventually started dating.
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But their relationship was always going to be marred by the tragic November 2015 death of his first wife, Amanda.
The 28-year-old woman was alone in the couple's Indianapolis home when three men entered the unlocked front door.
She was 12 weeks pregnant when she was shot in the head as she tried to defend herself and her one-year-old son, Weston, during the incident on November 10, 2015.
She later died in a hospital.
Amanda (pictured with Blackburn and Watson) was killed during a home invasion committed by three men on November 10, 2015
Regarding his new relationship, Blackburn wrote in a blog post: 'Lord, if you ever bring me another wife here's what I ask for, that she loves you more than she loves me, that she loves me, that she loves Weston, and that she loves Amanda
He continued: 'I knew that was going to be crucial because much of my life to come I’ll be sharing Amanda’s story and our journey through trial and tragedy.' Blackburn is pictured with Amanda and Weston
Describing his new relationship in the 4,000-word blog post, Blackburn wrote: 'You see, several months after Amanda passed I wrote something in my prayer journal:
'Lord, if you ever bring me another wife here's what I ask for, that she loves you more than she loves me, that she loves me, that she loves Weston, and that she loves Amanda.
'I knew that was going to be crucial because much of my life to come I’ll be sharing Amanda’s story and our journey through trial and tragedy.'
Monroy also has a daughter from a previous marriage. The new family will consist of Blackburn, his son Weston, Monroy and her daughter Natalia.
Blackburn wrote in the blog post: 'Kristi has quickly became like a mother to Weston and Natalia, an older sister. And I have quickly fallen in love with both of them.'
In the blog post, he wrote that he honored a pledge he made to not 'pursue anything with anyone' for a year after Amanda's death.
He wrote that from September to November 2016, he 'just observed' Monroy.
One evening in January 2017, he asked her out on a dinner date and she said no. But they began bringing each other's children around to their Crossfit gym so that the children could play together while their parents worked out.
He later asked her out on a date, on March 31, to see a ballet. But it did not end up panning out as planned.
'We had received some wise counsel that it would be a good idea to stay under the table with this developing relationship until after Amanda's trial (which was set for May at this point).
'So instead of me taking her to the ballet I paid for her and one of our church overseer's wives to go to a nice dinner and the ballet while I took her daughter to Chick-Fil-A and Build-A-Bear. We still tell people this was our "first date"'.
The former couple dated long distance before getting married. Amanda had taken a purity pledge wherein she pledged not to kiss a man before she was married
Blackburn (center, pictured with friends at a CrossFit gym) said at the time of Amanda's death two years ago: 'I have not only lost my ministry partner and support but also my very best friend. My wife was such a beautiful, gracious, loving woman of God'
Blackburn, pictured with Watson, has a large social media following
In mid-May, they then became public. In August, they met each other's parents. Four months later, they are now married.
Blackburn wrote in his November 14 blog post: 'We can't wait to celebrate God's redemption in our story!'
Three men were charged with Amanda's murder. They are Jalen Watson, 21, Larry Taylor, 18, and Diano Gordon, 24.
Two of the men who entered the house left to try and get money out of her bank account with her debit cards.
Watson pleaded guilty in October to robbery and burglary, court records obtained by the Indianapolis Star indicate.
Blackburn was at an LA Fitness gym at the time.
At the time the pastor posted a statement on his church's website where he said: 'It's impossible to communicate all the emotions my heart has been forced to process. My wife was such a beautiful, gracious, loving woman of God.
'I have not only lost my ministry partner and support but also my very best friend. My wife was such a beautiful, gracious, loving woman of God.
'I have not only lost my ministry partner and support but also my very best friend. There is no way to prepare yourself for circumstances like these.
'As deeply as I am hurting I am hopeful and confident that good things will come of this. I rest in the truth of Romans 8:28 that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose.
'Thank you for understanding my desire to take these next few days to continue to grieve for Amanda Grace.
'My focus right now is to let The Lord minister to my heart as I continue to shepherd little Weston's. I'll be taking this time to focus on being a great follower of Jesus, dad, family member, and pastor to our growing church.
'Amanda made it her life's calling to love and serve everyone she knew. Even more, she has made it her life's mission to see as many people as possible come to know Jesus as their personal Savior.
For Halloween, Weston dressed as Batman and Natalia dressed as Wonder Woman
Pictured is Weston, as Batman, rolling around in some grass
'I know that in her death and legacy even more people will come to a saving faith in Christ. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt her desire for me would be to continue what we've started here in Indy.
'I hold firm to the belief that God is still good, that He takes our tragedy and turns it into triumph, and that the best truly is yet to come.'
Incredibly, Blackburn had previously said he has chosen to forgive Amanda's killers.
'I was extremely relieved to get the news of the arrest,' he told reporters. 'Though everything inside of me wants to hate, be angry, and slip into despair I choose the route of forgiveness, grace and hope.'
Davey and Amanda met through a blind date to a concert featuring the Christian band Hawk Nelson, set up by her sister and Davey's best friend.
They were attending different colleges at the time, but Davey was on his fall break and spent all of his free time with Amanda.
The day before Davey returned to school, he and Amanda had a milkshake drinking contest, which Amanda lost, according to the Indianapolis Star .
'You shot milkshake out of your nose,' Davey told Amanda in a church sermon video. 'And that's when I knew that I had met the girl I was going to marry.'
Left to right: 18-year-old Larry Taylor, 21-year-old Jalen Watson and 24-year-old Diano Gordon were charged with murder in connection with the home invasion. Court records indicate that Watson pleaded guilty to robbery and burglary in October
Prior to getting married, they had been dating long distance and only spent time together in periods of about three weeks at a time, so the couple went to counseling to learn how to communicate.
Amanda had taken a purity pledge when she was a teen, where she agreed not to even kiss a man before she was married. She was true to her claim.
'Do you know how much that meant to me?' he said in the sermon. 'From that moment that I kissed her I knew there was going to be a special bond inside of God's plan for us.'
Resonate Church is tailored to younger worshipers and has released weekly videos that cover topics such as relationships and what the Bible says about sex.
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