A pastor in the Ozarks has claimed that a "creative miracle" caused a woman's amputated toes to regrow last week, but an apparent refusal to provide any proof has inspired a very skeptical response from some.
Pastor John Lindell of James River Church claims that the prayer-fueled miracle took place last week during a service at the church's Joplin, Missouri, branch, according to an article published Wednesday by the Springfield News-Leader.
The healing supposedly took place during a service hosted by guest pastor Bill Johnson of Redding, California's Bethel Church—which made headlines in 2019 after unsuccessfully attempting to "resurrect" a deceased 2-year-old girl.
Lindell reportedly said during a March 15 live stream that the miracle happened after "prayer team members" prayed over Kristina Dines, who lost three of her toes and suffered other serious injuries when she was shot by her then-husband Stephen Thompson in 2015.
"As the ladies prayed for Krissy over the next 30 minutes, all three toes grew, and by that point, were longer than her pinky toe," Lindell said during the live stream. "Within an hour, nails began to grow on all the toes. This morning... she went to a medical doctor, she has three toes."
A video of Dines providing testimony of the claimed healing was shared to Facebook but reportedly deleted soon after. However, video of the testimony was preserved by third parties.
"I thought, well I certainly have a creative miracle that I might need, I need three toes to grow back," Dines says in the video. "The person next to me said, 'do you want new toes?' And I was like, 'well, sure!'"
"All the women got down and they prayed over my foot, and I decided to take my shoe off to see what was happening," she continues. "I saw three toes that were forming, and now there's length to them. Tonight, I can stand on my tippy-toes!"
A complete lack of any evidence to support the supposed healing, such as a video or photos of the incident, quickly inspired the emergence of a website calling for proof, ShowMeTheToes.Com.
The website calls for anyone who was a witness to the service to provide "your account of this event" by emailing WeWillAcceptProof@gmail.com.
It also asks for those who "attended the services and were disturbed by what you saw" to get in touch, as well as make a direct appeal to Dines.
"If you are Krissy and you see this and are ready to provide proof of your miracle or to provide an apology for your deception I will gladly use this website to allow you to do so..." the site says.
Newsweek has reached out to James River Church via email and Dines via multiple social media accounts for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
