Andrew Stoecklein, the pastor of Inland Hills Church in Chino, California, died in August 2018 after attempting suicide there.
Two weeks earlier, he and his faithful wife, Kayla, told the congregation that he was suffering from anxiety and despair and had taken time off work to improve.
Andrew Stoecklein, who took over the pulpit after his father’s death from cancer in 2015, returned confidently optimistic after facing the fear of mental illness that had only months previously driven him to the emergency room with a panic episode that had spun out of hand.
Who is Andrew Stoecklein?
Megachurch Chino, California police say that on Friday, Pastor Andrew Stoecklein, working at the Inland Hills Church his father established, attempted suicide. He died the following day.
Church leaders did not mention Stoecklein’s suicide attempt when they announced his death late on Sunday.
In response to a request for comment from The Christian Post, a church administrator who only gave his first name, Pastor Chris, said he could not discuss the subject now.
Stoecklein committed suicide just two weeks after returning to his position. as head pastor at Inland Hills Church, leaving behind his wife Kayla and three sons.
He had been absent for four months because he needed time to deal with his anxiety and sadness.
Even though his church was financially healthy and seeing record-breaking attendance, Stoecklein stated this in his first address back from sabbatical on August 12.
Stoecklein, who turned 30 in May, became pastor of the megachurch when his father died from cancer in 2015.
However, as he and his family experienced stalking threats in recent months, they were eventually compelled to relocate.
He had health problems that culminated in a nervous breakdown that April. The leaders of his church ultimately convinced him that he needed a break.
What happened to Andrew Stoecklein? He went through panic attacks before his death
I started feeling physically unwell around seven months before this collapse on Thursday. During that time, I underwent two procedures to remove a lump the size of a softball from my chest. I’ve finally gotten over 60 kidney stones, and it feels great. My little ones, as it were. He then said, “Oh yeah.”
He went on to say that in March, while travelling abroad, he started having panic and anxiety episodes. Above and beyond all else, I reasoned. For three weeks, let’s explore India and Africa.
“I traveled to India and spoke at 7 Easter services, then I started having anxiety attacks, And anxiety and was working with a wellness doctor on this, and we thought, let’s get back from India,” he explained.
He had a terrifying panic attack in church on Good Friday.
For the first service, one of the security officers who helped follow me discovered me amid acute terror, lying on the bathroom floor of the offices. This is when we first realized anything was off. Then Easter came and went.
I meant to say, ‘You know, it’s jetlag. …and I’m fine. I’m able to keep going… Then, he continued, “Thursday afternoon happened.”
The elders requested that he take a few days off in April on a Thursday to rest and get well. I was in my room on the second floor.
The boys and Kayla were downstairs, and I completely lost it. The flooring installer contacted to say he couldn’t get the foundations in by the deadline, and that’s what set off Stoecklein’s anxiety.
And if you’ve ever experienced one yourself or been around someone having one, you know how terrifying they can be. The threat to my life was real.
The notion of dying crossed my mind. I was walking in place. I was utterly illogical. Kayla begged me to take her to the emergency room.
It was a no from me. I avoided drugs at all costs. Then I told her, “Girl, I have a message to preach on Sunday.” I refused to go to the emergency room. “I felt out of my mind,” he said.
According to Stoecklein, his wife had to talk to two doctors over the phone before. Andrew Stoecklein would agree to go to the emergency room.
I couldn’t even get out of bed. I was pushed in wearing my sunglasses in a wheelchair. This is something I will never forget.
I wore sunglasses because I was sure everyone from Inland Hills Church would visit the hospital to witness my breakdown. And I was having these irrational fears that someone was plotting my death.
So I hid, and when they found me, they took me straight to the rear. The young minister added, “They put me in this hallway and told me there was no room.
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Andrew Stoecklein’s widow came out and spoke about her husband
Kayla Stoecklein publicly supported her husband but seemed guarded about the success. “We still have a long way to go to work through it, but we are all in,” she addressed the congregation in their taped message on August 12, 2018.
We’re not giving up on our decision to believe in God’s good intentions for us. Our plans are fantastic—beautiful hopes for this church and our pastor.
Andrew Stoecklein’s nondenominational megachurch elders made him take a “summer sabbatical” in April 2018 after he had a mental breakdown just before his 30th birthday in May of that year. There was a lot that he had been through.
Andrew Stoecklein and his family had to relocate after he encountered health difficulties and had to have surgery while he was still grieving his father’s death.
Kayla reflected on how her spouse had become not an “enjoyable person to live with.” She voiced public concern that his pastoring and other personal problems could “cost him his life.”
Andrew Stoecklein is in love with this location and doesn’t want to leave. “He would have kept going and going, and it probably would have cost him his life,” she remarked, her voice cracking slightly with creakiness. This is how much he cares for you and this area.
“I’ve asked him, ‘Are you sure?'” You need not be a minister to do this. She reflected on a time when “you could be whatever you want to be.” “We can settle down anywhere we like. We could move to Texas and purchase a mansion.
Kayla Stoecklein, 29, gave in after her husband, Andrew, argued that he was following God’s will in doing what he was doing.
Since his father, David Stoecklein, who passed away on October 9, 2015, established Inland Hills Church in 1987, the congregation has experienced unprecedented growth and financial success.
Despite his outward success, Andrew Stoecklein was “crumbling” under the pressure of an internal battle.
Police statement on Andrew Stoecklein case
City of Chino Police Department crime prevention supervisor Tamrin Olden told CP late Tuesday that police received a call from the church about Stoecklein’s suicide attempt at around 11:08 a.m. last Friday. Still, she declined to give any specifics from the official police record.
Someone called to report that they had found him at the church. Olden added, “I don’t know the specifics of where he was. “I don’t know where in the building he was, but he was in there.”
When questioned if it was included in the police report. she stated, “We don’t release those types of details.” She also remained mum on how the 30-year-old preacher had committed suicide.
Several police officers are church members, and Olden would subsequently reveal this fact in her interview with CP. Stoecklein’s death deeply impacted them.
She added that the agency frequently collaborates with Inland Hills on religiously inspired projects.
Since we have ties to that church, the tragedy hits closer to home than it would if we had no association with them.
Our group is small but close-knit. Many of our employees are active church members and often attend services there. Many of our relatives and friends from church also call this area home. It has had a significant effect, for sure.
Many in the community knew members of the church’s congregation. We’re like a little family here. Because of our ties to these communities, catastrophes like these will have an outsized effect on us,” Olden added.
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