HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — A man who had a loaded shotgun in his car outside a Holland church said he went there to seek advice from a pastor who’d given him “profound advice” before.

“I want people to know basically that it was a huge misunderstanding,” said Joshua Dean Foster, 26, in an interview at his home in Holland. “People who know me know I would never hurt anybody. They know I’m just the most loving guy.”

Among his most treasured loves, Foster said, are the two churches he’s now barred from visiting.

“I have different pastors who are a part of my life who give me different advice when I need it,” Foster said.

At 10 a.m. Sunday, Foster showed up at Central Wesleyan Church on 40th Street in Holland, hoping to find one such pastor.

A photo of Joshua Dean Foster from Holland. (July 5, 2019)

One of the mega church’s leaders told 24 Hour News 8 that an employee first noticed Foster driving erratically in the parking lot.

Foster said he was unable to find the pastor he knew, but security officers wasted no time finding him.

“I was talking to these two other guys and they were like, ‘where’d you come from, what are you doing?’ and I was like I was out with my friends shooting my gun in the woods and this and that, and they’re like, ‘oh, you got a gun with you?’ and I’m like, ‘yeah’,” Foster said, recalling his conversation with security officers at the church.

According to Foster, he then decided to head to a second church, a plan he shared with people at Central Wesleyan.

That’s when the church called 911.

“The only thought we had was someone was inebriated and acting erratically. These days, you can’t ignore something like that,” explained Lynn Bruce, executive pastor of operations at Central Wesleyan.

Bruce said Foster did not make any threats.

But when Holland officers located Foster inside Shekinah Revival Ministries on Washington Avenue in Holland, they found a loaded shotgun in his vehicle.

A photo outside Shekinah Revival Ministries in Holland.

“I was having an awesome time up in the balcony (at Shekinah), you know, worshipping God, feeling the presence of God, and that’s when everything started happening, that’s when the cops showed up,” Foster said.

Foster was arrested without incident and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, habitual offender third, no insurance, driving while license suspended and unlawful use of a license plate.

“It was illegal for (Foster) to have (a gun) concealed in the passenger compartment of the car and illegal from him to have it on church property,” wrote Captain Keith Mulder of Holland’s Department of Public Safety in an email exchange with 24 Hour News 8.

“The shotgun was loaded at the time the officers recovered it, with additional ammunition present in the vehicle… With the information the church security and our officers had at the time, they did an excellent job of relaying information and responding to a high risk and potentially dangerous situation. They responded as we are trained to respond, and resolved the situation very quickly,” Mulder wrote.

The police captain confirmed that Foster was known to attend both churches.

“There were some actions and statements made by the suspect at both churches that caused concern to the church security and to the officers as to what his intent was at the time,” Mulder wrote.

However, Mulder said further investigation has not revealed evidence of Foster’s intent that day, nor any indication of threatening behavior leading up to it.

“Without any further indication or evidence supporting the original concerns, we don’t want to argue what his intent was that day,” Mulder wrote.

Foster said his intent was to seek guidance from pastors and he only had the shotgun because he’d been target practicing with friends in the woods of Hamilton the night before.

“I mean, it’s America, it’s our right to bear arms,” Foster said.

“I don’t have a fricking machine gun. It’s an old school shotgun that holds one shell in it. Like, are you kidding me? You think I’m going to try to do something dumb with that? It’s a hunting shotgun. Give me a break.”

Still, Foster acknowledged he can “kind of” understand why churches are vigilant about safety in today’s world, but he said he felt “really betrayed and hurt at the same time.”

While Foster said he was not drunk nor high when he visited the churches, he admitted he’s had problems with drugs in the past.

His criminal history includes convictions for misdemeanor drug and theft charges and one count of felony larceny from a vehicle.

“Drugs are horrible. I will not deny that drugs have had a very negative impact on my life and has caused me to do things I would not normally have done — maybe act ways I would not normally have acted. Still, that doesn’t change what’s in my heart,” Foster said.

“To be put in this situation is pretty hard. It’s pretty uncomfortable. It’s not cool for my family. It’s not cool for me. It’s probably going to hurt me getting a job. But I’m here to work through it. I know God’s got my back… I believe this is just one more test on my journey.”

It was also a test of church security, and experts say both congregations responded exactly as they would have hoped.

“Everything went the way it should have gone,” said Rudy Mascarro, who co-founded Diversified Protection and Investigation, the firm that provides armed security inside and out for Central Wesleyan.

“Information was shared on a really timely basis, the police were called, and (Holland) police were fantastic in their response.”

Mascarro said church shootings nationwide have made it clear that no congregation is immune from random violence.

He said churches unable to afford armed security from an outside agency should consider arming pastors or other church leaders.

“We can see historically that we have to be prepared because when something comes knocking at your door, you have to be ready. If you’re not ready, it’s going to be a problem,” Mascarro said.

However, Mascarro said churches must commit to finding the right person for that volunteer job.

A photo of Rudy Mascarro, co-founder of Diversified Protection and Investigation. (July 5, 2019)

“They must be completely vetted, present a current concealed carry permit and commit to training on a regular basis, including range and scenario-based training…They must also be willing volunteers. You don’t want this responsibility to be taken on unless the volunteer is enthusiastically embracing it.”

Mascarro also recommends that churches invite the police to tour their facility, so they’re familiar with the layout.

Church leaders would, of course, have to sign off on the plan since churches are gun-free zones by state law.