Rev. Gary Marsh of Victory Chapel First Phoenix vowed that his church will never stop preaching on the streets as the church’s outreach director shows some signs of recovery after being shot in the head last week.

During Wednesday night service service, Marsh gave a brief update on the situation surrounding Hans Schmidt, a father of two, who was shot while street preaching on the corner of 51st Avenue and Peoria in Glendale last Wednesday evening before a service. Schmidt is hospitalized in critical condition. Â

“It’s up and down. It’s up and down. He’s not out of the woods yet, folks,” Marsh said. “He’s showing signs that he’s on the road to recovery, but he’s not out of the woods yet. We just need to keep lifting him and lifting him. [his wife] Zulya. That poor one, dear. She just has to be beside herself.”

During the Sunday night worship serviceMarsh told his congregation that it had been a very “chaotic situation” since the shooting.

“We stood out on the same street corner the last two nights in a row pretty much to make a statement: Satan, you’re not going to stop us,” he said.

“We don’t wish ill on the perpetrator, but pray that he is at least exposed and let the legal system deal with him,” Marsh added. “We will not go hunting for his head, but let the law take care of him. Leave it to the light, and let us find out who he, she – whatever it is – become known,” he added.Â

Marsh vowed, “We will never stop doing God’s work.”Â

“We will never stop preaching in the streets. We will never stop spreading the word and sharing the Gospel. We will never stop proclaiming the name of Jesus to a lost world. That will never end in this congregation,” Marsh emphasized.

“I give you my word, and even if I’m not around, the guy who follows me, he’s going to be more radical than me; just plan on it. This is who we are. This is who we are as a fellowship.”

During the morning service that day, a leader who read the announcements explained that about 100 people from various churches had gathered on Friday to preach on the street corner in solidarity with Schmidt.

“We saw people rescued that night. I know of at least two people who were rescued. There may have been more than that,” the speaker said.

Last Saturday, the speaker added that people also gathered to show support, some coming from other churches from near and far.

“Probably 80 to 100 people were there on all four street corners here proclaiming the Gospel, letting them know that Jesus is still alive, no matter what our circumstances are,” the speaker said.

The young outreach director remains in critical condition as an investigation is conducted by law enforcement to find the perpetrator and determine the circumstances that led to the shooting.

​​Gina Winn, the public information officer for the Glendale Police Department, said during press conference after the incident that law enforcement “is looking for the assistance of the public in obtaining any information regarding what could have happened.”

She said the intersection in question is typically busy, and there were likely people in the area when the incident occurred.

“We believe there is someone in the valley who knows something about what happened,” Winn said

“This is a horrible, horrible crime. We have a 26-year-old who was an army medic. He just got married. He has two small children, and he’s currently in a critical condition. It’s imperative that the public reach out. Find out if you do have information so we can do justice to Hans and his family,” she added

The Glendale Police Department is asking that anyone with information about the incident call its non-emergency number at 623-930-3000.