A handful of Assemblies of God pastors are publicly calling for their denomination to repent and reform in light of allegations of long-term failures to address clergy sex abuse.
The Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world with nearly 13,000 congregations in the United States alone and more than 86 million members worldwide, according to the denomination’s website.
NBC News Investigates Decades of Allegations of Clergy Sex Abuse and Cover-Ups
Last week, Mike Hixenbaugh and Elizabeth Chuck, journalists with NBC News, released a bombshell report detailing decades of alleged clergy sex abuse and cover-up in the Assemblies of God, as well as systemic failure to address these issues, despite discussion about them at several meetings of the denomination’s General Council.
NBC News reported finding nearly 200 Assemblies of God pastors, church employees, and volunteer leaders who had been accused of sexual abuse since the 1970s. The number of alleged victims is more than 475, and most of them were children at the time of the alleged abuse.
Many times, the alleged abuse happened on church property or during church retreats. In about 30 instances, NBC News found that church leaders had been placed in positions of authority after they were accused of sex abuse. This included convicted sex offenders serving as youth pastors and accused senior ministers being reinstated with new congregations. NBC’s investigation concluded that these actions contributed to circumstances where more children were allegedly abused.
The journalists also found that in many cases, victims claimed that their allegations of abuse were dismissed and that they were pressured to stay quiet. One survivor recounted a church leader praying for “lying, demonic spirits” to leave her after she reported abuse.
According to NBC News, the General Assembly of the Assemblies of God has debated whether to make abuse prevention and reporting standards mandatory across all congregations but has not done so for fear of legal liability.
Assemblies of God churches are run autonomously and are part of a “voluntary cooperative fellowship.” While the denomination sets standards for credentialing ministers, every congregation is free to govern itself.
In 1997 and 1999, the denomination considered a resolution banning sex offenders from holding ministerial credentials, but the resolution was shelved both times after debate.
Similar measures were voted down in 2019 and 2021.
