Tennessee Pastor Shares Faith with Hayden Panettiere Months Before Her Death, Reflects on Meeting

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. — When Dylan Novak met actress Hayden Panettiere at a fan convention in Pennsylvania this spring, he walked away with more than a photograph or a handshake. He left carrying what he describes as a heavy burden.

"One thing my wife and I immediately started talking about after we met her was what a sad presence there was about her," Novak recalled.

The youth pastor at Henard's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Rogersville, Tennessee, had traveled to Steel City Con in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, this past April with a mission that goes far beyond typical fan interactions. Novak founded Celebrity Evangelist Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the Christian gospel to high-profile figures—people he considers an overlooked mission field.

During the April encounter, Novak and his wife connected with Panettiere over shared experiences of parenthood and raising daughters. They also found an opportunity to share their faith and provide her with religious resources.

"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 television dramas "Heroes" and "Nashville," was found unresponsive on Aug. 16 at an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina. She was 36 years old. Preliminary autopsy results from the Greenville County Coroner's Office showed no signs of trauma contributing to her death. Her death remains under investigation.

News of Panettiere's passing reached Novak across state lines, prompting reflection on their brief but meaningful encounter.

"I wish we had had an opportunity to follow up with Hayden again," Novak said. "I was saddened to learn of her passing and found comfort in knowing I'd had the chance to witness to her and give her faith resources."

The pastor's ministry has reached more than 2,000 celebrities over the years, including household names like President Donald Trump, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Sydney Sweeney. His approach is deeply personal—he tells every person he meets that he cares about them and asks about their spiritual destination. He also provides customized gift bags containing embossed Bibles, Christian resources, and handwritten notes addressing specific comments the celebrity has made in interviews about faith and doubts.

In 2023, Novak presented rock legend Ozzy Osbourne with a modern-translation Bible tailored to address Osbourne's difficulty understanding traditional biblical language. After Osbourne's passing in July 2025, Novak said his ministry received hundreds of emails from fans requesting the same gospel materials.

"We had, no exaggeration, hundreds of people emailing us asking us for gospel information," Novak said. "People were saying, 'Can you send me some of the material that you gave to Ozzy? I'm an old rocker, I rejected Christ years ago. But if Ozzy was willing to look at it, I'm willing to look at it.' People saying, 'I want to be saved' and that is just so beautiful to see."

Jack Osbourne later told Novak his father kept the personalized Bible on his nightstand and spent hours reading it.

Panettiere's death has only intensified Novak's sense of purpose.

"It just filled me with the fuel, the fire of the gospel of, we need to keep doing this. This is why we do what we do," Novak said. "We all have the mindset when we see younger people, 'Oh, there'll be plenty of time.' But really nobody knows except the Lord. That's why it's so important to make sure we continue to share that with everybody around us."