Andy Williams, the former drummer for Contemporary Christian Music mainstays Casting Crowns, was put on a ventilator and had a leg amputated following a serious motorcycle accident in Tennessee. Grace Chapel Fairview has posted regular updates on Williams’ condition to its Facebook page, including pleas for prayer and a GoFundMe to cover expensive medical bills.
Williams was driving to church when he was struck by another vehicle and had to be resuscitated at the scene. He was rushed to the hospital where he was placed on a ventilator and an emergency surgery left his leg amputated at the knee. Williams has been in the hospital ever since, according to the church’s most recent updates, where the most recent surgery successfully removed bacteria from his lungs in an effort to bring fevers down. Williams is alive, but the trauma to his body and brain is very serious.
“Your prayers are being felt and we are so thankful,” Pastor Jeff Boyet noted on his most recent update. “Don’t stop! God is moving in so many ways. He’s bringing comfort, opportunity and relationships in this trial.”
A GoFundMe has been started with a goal of $250,000. You can donate to it here.
“There are so many unknowns about the future, but we serve a God who knows what Andy will face,” wrote Karly Henry, who organized the GoFindMe. “We want to give Andy, Kelly, Aden and Asher the financial resources they will need in the weeks and months ahead. We have set a goal of $250,000, but we want to bless this family above and beyond so they can focus on Andy’s healing!”
Daytona Beach natives Casting Crowns was one of CCM’s biggest acts of the early ’00s, with songs like “Voice of Truth,” “Who Am I” and “Praise You In This Storm” making them enormously popular on Christian radio. They’re one of the passingly few American bands to be invited to North Korea, playing the Spring Friendship Arts Festival in Pyongyang in 2009.
The current Casting Crown band members posted an update to Facebook, acknowledging that Williams’ “needs are many” and asking fans to “please stop what you are doing and pray for Andy to wake up.” Sounds like a good idea.
