Platt is also the founder of Radical, “a parachurch ministry that serves alongside the local church, providing multilingual biblical resources,” according to the organization’s website.

He is a “New York Times” bestselling author and will release his latest book, “Counter Culture,” in February.

Platt said the book is his attempt “to address some of the most pressing social issues that surround us today with truth from God’s word and compassions from God’s word.”

“On one hand, I’m really encouraged when I see Christians speaking out on sex trafficking and poverty,” Platt said. “At the same time, many of these same Christians are silent on other issues like same-sex marriage and abortion. My goal is to show the same gospel compels us to respond on all these issues.”

Blythe said The Church at Brook Hills doesn’t have a timeline regarding finding a replacement for Platt.

“We have a senior pastor search team that has been formed,” Blythe said. “They have been meeting for a couple of months now. We realize filling a role, or following someone like David, in a larger church could take many months. We’re prepared to be patient, but at the same time, we want to be diligent in our search.”

Platt will lead an event called Secret Church on April 24 at The Church at Brook Hills. The topic will be “Christ, Culture and A Call to Action.”

Platt said as many as 20,000 people could attend the event, which will also be simulcast for other churches and groups across the U.S. and the world.

Secret Church participants will meditate on the word and pray for persecuted followers of Christ around the world from 6 p.m. to midnight April 24.

“The purpose will be to explore and study the Bible,” Platt said. “How does Christ compel us to live and act in the culture around us?”

Platt said his leadership of Secret Church is “humbling and exciting.”

“It just kind of happened,” he said. “It’s exciting because it shows that people have a hunger for knowing God’s word. It’s encouraging to see people learning about persecution around the world.”

As for The Church at Brook Hills, a 25th anniversary celebration is planned for February.

“Leaders are working toward making that a special time to recognize and celebrate the life of the church,” Blythe said. “There are many, many good things still happening in the life of Brook Hills. Though we’re saddened to have lost David as our pastor, the mission of the church continues. We’ve not pressed pause on our ministry here.”