Shock and disbelief are settling in—and most are asking the same question in one way or the other; how could this happen here?

"This isn't Charlottesville; these are outsiders," they repeated throughout the day trying to comfort each other. "What should we do? How did we let this happen? What went wrong? How responsible are we?"

So, as a resident of this once peaceful city, I also wondered how we should respond in the future? How do we, as Believers, respond to the seeds of hate speech, racism and violence that blossomed over our city and our University yesterday? How can we stop it from happening again?

Saturday was scheduled on many Christian calendars as international students move-in day—the kick-off of "welcome week" orientations for the incoming class of 2021. Half a dozen sporting events were also planned by the University and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. All were cancelled—by mid-morning on Saturday, the city had virtually shut down.

Instead of welcomes and games, rioting and street fights started Friday night in a torch light parade to the Thomas Jefferson Monument on University grounds. Early Saturday morning, while several churches and Christian groups held prayer walks in McGuffey Park and vigils in nearby churches, "Unite the Right" rally members picked street fights with willing counter-protestors downtown. By mid-morning, protestors and counter-protestors were gleefully rioting in downtown Charlottesville.

That's when police, on cue, stepped in and cancelled the Rally before it could begin.

The resulting violence left one woman dead, two police officers accidentally killed in a helicopter crash, and 19 people injured—many with life-threatening injuries.

The Saturday rally was almost universally represented here in the media as a Ku Klux Klan style event staged by white racists—a rally resurrected from a bygone era of racial violence. As a result, fearful and self-righteous Christians from 250 local churches in the five-county area boycotted both the Rally and counter-protests.

The clergy that locked arms and blocked the "Unite the Right" Rally from entering the park were mostly outsiders recruited from up and down the East Coast. Like the Rally participants themselves, they were bused in from nearby states to provoke political theater, damage, violence and mayhem.

Watching the events unfold in horror on Saturday, both Christian and secular political eyewitnesses realized that the deadly violence was highly organized; orchestrated by professional outside forces—organizers welcomed in by naive churches and community leaders.

Local Christian leaders now understand that "Congregate Charlottesville," the inter-faith counter protest staged to oppose the visiting white nationalists, was masterfully organized by outsiders who wanted violence as much as Alt-Right Nazi racists they pretended to oppose.

From the start, most local Christians here realized that "Congregate Charlottesville" and the demonstrators didn't represent the community—but no one understood their true agenda; how serious and deadly the violence could become.

Now, these same Christian leaders are trying to wash the blood off their hands and hopefully learn a valuable lesson for the future.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

An Easter Miracle!! 2nd Crew Member from Downed Jet in Iran Rescued and Safely Extracted after Intense Race to Reach Him before IRGC Terrorists

PRAYER ALERT: US F-15 Fighter Jet Downed in SW Iran, 1 Pilot Rescued and Safe; Search Continues for Second One

Dutch Sheets: Good Friday Message & Communion

'I Began to Pray': Pastor Talks Down Crazed Man Who Points Gun Directly at Him, Leads 10 to Christ

Trump HHS Renews Planned Parenthood Grants for 'Final Year' Due to Legalities, But 'Funds CANNOT Be Used for Abortions'

WATCH: Families at the Center of Washington State Transgender Sports Debate Stand Firm for Truth

Levin: Ruling Against Birthright Citizenship Should Be a 'Slam-Dunk' for Supreme Court [Video]

Colorado Appeals Court Reverses Tina Peters' Sentencing, Could This Lead to Her Freedom?

March Job Growth Triples Expectations, Unemployment Rate Dips

Artemis II Mission Pilot: 'We Need Jesus; Whether Here on Earth or Orbiting the Moon'

Democrat Lawmaker Steps Down, Says Faith No Longer Aligns with Left's Agenda

Trump Administration Charges 9 in Massive Massachusetts Fraud Scheme

ICE Finally Detains Notorious Hamas Fundraiser Salah Sarsour; Decades of Terror Ties Exposed as AMP Leader Faces Deportation

Johnson, Thune Hatch Plan to Fund DHS and Launch a Second Reconciliation Push to End the Dem's Shutdown

Pentagon Briefed Trump on Plan to Seize Uranium from Hands of Iranian Terrorist Regime

President Trump Reassures Americans: Iran Operation Won't Be a Forever War

Pam Bondi OUT as Attorney General

Countdown for Historic Space Mission Artemis II Begins

Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Halt Construction on Privately Funded White House Ballroom; Trump Responds

Trump Rolls Out a Plan to Back Farmers amid Rising Costs, Pledging 'Golden Age'