A Tennessee pastor who has shared the gospel with over 2,000 celebrities opened up about meeting actress Hayden Panettiere in 2024 following news of her untimely death on Aug.16. Dylan Novak serves as a youth pastor at Henard's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Rogersville, Tennessee.
He is also the founder of Celebrity Evangelist Ministries, a non-profit outreach dedicated to sharing the gospel with the world's most famous figures in what Novak calls a forgotten mission field. Novak recalled meeting Panettiere in April 2024 at Steel City Con in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife connected with the star over parenthood and raising daughters.While they were able to share their faith with the actress, Novak said he and his wife walked away feeling a heavy, "sad presence" surrounding Panettiere."One thing my wife and I immediately started talking about after we met her was what a sad presence there was about her," Novak told Fox News Digital.
"And I've talked a lot about that this past week.I wish we had had an opportunity to follow up with Hayden again."HAYDEN PANETTIERE REMEMBERED BY VIOLA DAVIS, BETHANY JOY LENZ AND OTHER CELEBRITIES AFTER SUDDEN DEATH AT 36Hayden Panettiere's death in August prompted a celebrity evangelist to open up about his 2024 encounter with the star.
(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)Novak added that people he said he knows in the entertainment industry who worked with Panettiere had shared similar observations."I've talked with multiple people who I personally know who have worked with her, been around her, and all of them said pretty much the same thing," Novak said."There was such a kindness about her, but there was also such a heartbreaking sadness that also surrounded her."Panettiere, who grew up on screen in films like "Remember the Titans" and "Ice Princess" before starring in the hit television dramas "Heroes" and "Nashville," was found unresponsive Aug.
16 at an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina....