In the video, children in the pews watch and cheer as mock commandos take aim at a figure at front of the church — a representation of the devil, according to church leaders — and open fire, all while Pastor Dewayne Walker leads a chant of "take him out, blow him up."
Critics online accused the church of inflicting trauma on the children, with one commenter calling the skit "sickening."
In a seven-minute video response posted to Facebook, Walker said the skit was not meant to condone violence against anyone but rather to illustrate the church's attitude toward the devil.
"The last several years we've had the 'Commandos for Christ' that has [sic] the gospel gun. It's the answer for the devil. The gospel and the Word of God," Walker says. "The clip you saw was simply killing the devil."
The pastor goes on the address the choice of depiction.
"You may think we went over the top. You may think it was a little bit extreme. And maybe you're right, but don't you believe that the devil is really using extreme measures in this generation," he says.
Walker apologized to anyone offended by the video, but also described online postings as containing misinformation. He went on to signal that he doesn't plan to publicly address the matter further.