{"id":545,"date":"2025-10-15T16:56:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T20:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inhishands\/?p=545"},"modified":"2025-10-16T15:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:57:11","slug":"tennessee-pastor-killed-in-factory-explosion-weeks-before-his-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inhishands\/2025\/10\/tennessee-pastor-killed-in-factory-explosion-weeks-before-his-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Pastor Killed in Factory Explosion Weeks Before His Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_563\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-563\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-563\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/457\/2025\/10\/Trent-Stewart_credit-Trent-Stewart-Facebook-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trent Stewart \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A Tennessee pastor set to marry in just a few weeks was among 16 people killed in last Friday\u2019s explosion at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant near Bucksnort.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities confirmed Monday that Pastor Trent Stewart, who also served as a firefighter with the Waverly Department of Public Safety, died in the blast. The explosion is considered one of the deadliest workplace accidents in Tennessee\u2019s recent history.<\/p>\n<p>Stewart\u2019s name was released along with the 15 others who lost their lives: Reyna Gillahan, Jason Adams, Billy Baker, Christopher Clark, James Cook, LaTeisha Mays, Melinda Rainey, Steven Wright, Erick Anderson, Adam Boatman, Mindy Clifton, Jeremy Moore, Melissa Stafford, Rachel Woodall, and Donald Yowell.<\/p>\n<p>Local leaders have described the tragedy as devastating for the tight-knit community.<\/p>\n<p>Stewart led The Log Church, a small nondenominational congregation in Waverly, and was engaged to Katy Stover. The couple became engaged in December 2023 and had planned to marry this fall.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fkatystover34%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0tzW7keXk3mwUzLQyd74Y3GaJeDuJztjC7nBEa7YqwiRzm4BWYRhQaRXnLX2sQvoRl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"658\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On social media, family members expressed their grief. \u201cPlease keep my cousin Katy Stover in your thoughts and prayers in the days &amp; months ahead. She lost her fianc\u00e9 Friday in the explosion. Their wedding date was in a few weeks. Everyone loved Trent Stewart,\u201d wrote Tina Hamblin Coon, a cousin of Stover.<\/p>\n<p>Coon described him as \u201cthe sweetest, happiest, friendliest goofball you\u2019d ever meet\u201d and added, \u201cHe shined especially bright since he started dating Katy. He loved her so much!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stewart\u2019s own words show the depth of his faith and devotion to his fianc\u00e9e. In a June birthday tribute, he wrote: \u201cI thank God every day that He brought you into my life! \u2026 This time next year it\u2019ll be a post for my wife instead of my fianc\u00e9, and I\u2019m so incredibly excited to marry you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following his death, Stover noted that The Log Church saw an unusually large turnout on Sunday. \u201cWe had a packed out house this morning at The Log Church. I know this would have absolutely thrilled Trent,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes to see how many people showed up to honor Trent and all the other families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tragedy has drawn reaction from across the state. Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is also a candidate for governor, issued a statement Wednesday highlighting Stewart\u2019s service.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHeartbroken for the community in Waverly after the tragic explosion at the munitions plant claimed the life of Log Church\u2019s beloved Pastor Trent Stewart,\u201d she said. \u201cOur hearts go out to every single family who lost a loved one in this devastating tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As investigators continue to look into the cause of the explosion, the Waverly community is left grappling with the loss of a pastor, firefighter, and soon-to-be husband. Stewart\u2019s death is being remembered not only as part of a major industrial tragedy but also as a deeply personal loss for a congregation and a family preparing for a wedding that will never take place.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3115\" data-end=\"3413\">In times like these, communities often turn to their faith for strength. Stewart himself once reminded his congregation that God\u2019s plans are bigger than our own. While his time on earth has ended far too soon, his testimony of faith, love, and service will continue to inspire those who knew him.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3415\" data-end=\"3668\">For his family, his church, and his fianc\u00e9e, the days ahead will be difficult. But as many have already expressed, prayer and God\u2019s presence remain a source of comfort. Stewart\u2019s legacy as a pastor, firefighter, and man of faith will not be forgotten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Tennessee pastor set to marry in just a few weeks was among 16 people killed in last Friday\u2019s explosion at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant near Bucksnort. Authorities confirmed Monday that Pastor Trent Stewart, who also served as a firefighter with the Waverly Department of Public Safety, died in the blast. The explosion is&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tennessee Pastor Killed in Factory Explosion Weeks Before His Wedding<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Tennessee pastor who was identified among 16 people killed in a plant explosion was weeks away from his wedding.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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