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Ben Strong was leading the prayer group at his school when another student pulled out a pistol and went on a deadly shooting spree. One year later, Ben reflects on finding hope in the face of tragedy.

When Ben Strong and Michael Carneal arrived at school on that Monday morning almost a year ago, both of them knew exactly what they wanted to do.

Ben wanted to pray with his friends.

Michael wanted to shoot them.

And so at 7:37 a.m. on December 1, 1997, Ben and about 35 other students gathered—as they did every morning before the first bell rang—in the front lobby of Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky.

There they stood, huddled together, holding hands, singing songs and talking to God.

While they prayed, Michael, a 14-year-old freshman, stood nearby, calmly putting in ear plugs. As soon as the students said, "Amen," Michael pulled out a pistol and started shooting.

The first bullet hit Nicole Hadley, a 14-year-old freshman who was a popular basketball player. Nicole crumpled to the floor and later died.

Michael pulled the trigger about 10 more times, sending more students to the floor. Three girls died—Nicole, 15-year-old Kayce Steger, and 17-year-old Jessica James. Five other students were injured, including one girl who remains paralyzed from the chest down (see "I needed to forgive him," below).

The whole time Michael was shooting, Ben kept yelling, "Mike, what are you doing? Put the gun down!" But Michael ignored him and kept pulling the trigger.

Then the principal, Bill Bond, who heard the shots from his office, came running into the lobby. Michael took aim at the principal. But before he could pull the trigger, Ben stepped in front of Michael and demanded that he stop the shooting.

This time, Michael listened. He put the gun down, then slouched to the floor and told Ben, "I can't believe I did that." Soon, police arrived, arrested Michael, and took him away. Michael, who confessed to the crime at that time, was scheduled to go to trial right before this issue went to print.

The principal says Ben is a hero.

"I have no doubt that Ben saved my life," says Mr. Bond. "There was one bullet left in the gun, and I know it was meant for me."

A hero? Ben disagrees.

"Not me,"he says. "I was just reacting to what was happening."

Just reacting? That was no ordinary reaction. There aren't many people who would do what Ben did.

"That took courage," the principal said.

Courage may have Ben's first reaction, but in the following days, his reactions were more typical: shock, grief, confusion, pain.

But never did he get angry at God.

"I guess I never thought of it that way," says Ben. "You don't know why stuff like this happens, but it does. And you can't really do anything to change that. You can change how you react to it, but you can't change the past. And you need to remember that God is always in control."

Ben says the tragedy has made his faith stronger, and he's never doubted God's love, even for a second.

"God is the only one who got us through this," he says. "God's always there for us, no matter what.

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