There are a lot of people in Florida that could probably benefit from going to church for some spiritual cleansing, but the thought of an alligator seeking salvation is something new entirely.
However, that appears to be what unfolded in Florida earlier this week, according to ABC 7. A four foot gator apparently crawled out of a nearby storm drain and walked right up to front stoop of the Lehigh Acres Church.
Daniel Gregory, the lead pastor at the church welcomed the gator with open arms, as he would any other prospective churchgoer.
“One of the daycare workers came in and was like ‘there’s a gator…’
I was like ‘funny.’
He came to our church. I don’t know what his spiritual condition is. Need to invite this gator to church.”
In the video, Gregory can be heard literally inviting the gator to church, and offering the gator a business card.
“We have services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday mornings. Want to check us out?”
The gator was reportedly uninterested in being baptized, and apparently scurried back into the storm drain from which it emerged.
A spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was less than entertained by the video though.
“We certainly encourage the viewing aspect of it, but we never want you to approach a wild animal like that. It can be very dangerous.
There’s no reason to take a chance.”
