Senior leaders of Bethel Church said they made “grievous mistakes” by failing to warn people about allegations against prophetic minister Shawn Bolz. The Jan. 25 statement from the church’s senior leadership team came one week after apologist Mike Winger posted an exposé about the Charismatic megachurch, which is based in Redding, California.
Winger, who said he wants to “bring positive reform” to a movement he loves, detailed allegations against Bolz and Bethel leadership in an almost six-hour video titled “The Skeletons in Bethel’s Closet Are Now Going to Speak.” According to the apologist, Bolz made bogus prophecies based on data-mining and engaged in sexual misconduct, and church leaders covered up his behavior despite warnings from Bethel alumni, witnesses, and victims.
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ChurchLeaders reached out to Shawn Bolz for comment about the allegations and will update this article with any reply.
On Jan. 24, Winger wrote on X, “Shawn Bolz announced today that he is stepping away from public ministry but hints that he plans to return to it after a break.”
Bethel Leaders: We Should Have Spoken Up
Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, and Dann Farrelly shared Sunday’s statement on behalf of the Bethel Church Leadership Team. Leaders also addressed Bethel congregants during worship on Jan. 25.
“We take responsibility for the fact that we did not properly and fully bring discipline, closure, or clear and timely communication regarding the gravity of our concerns with Shawn Bolz,” leaders wrote. “This was someone we platformed to preach and prophesy in our house and with our teams on many occasions up until 2019.” Leaders admitted they “did not tell the truth enough, early enough, long enough, or loud enough.”
Both Vallotton and Johnson provided personal statements within the longer communication from Bethel leadership.
Vallotton said a member of Bolz’s team made “allegations of sexual harassment” against Bolz in 2019, but Bolz “denied any wrongdoing.” Soon afterward, Bethel leaders in Europe provided “evidence that [Bolz] was using social media to get information for false words of knowledge,” Vallotton noted. Again, Bolz denied the allegations.
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Although Bethel removed Bolz and his work from church platforms, leaders failed to go public with the allegations, Vallotton added. “When [Bolz] failed, and failed to repent, it was our responsibility to tell people that we no longer trusted him in order to protect them.”
Vallotton said he has had “a change of perspective” since Jan. 18, when he preached about “the complexities of shepherding people in the 21st century” amid “so much fake news.”
In the Jan. 25 statement, Vallotton cited his “error in judgment” regarding Bolz, a friend who had previously ministered to him. “It grieves me that someone would need to put out a video to prompt us to action,” he wrote, referencing the exposé from apologist Mike Winger. “It’s an indictment against my leadership.”
Saying he was “grieved by my actions,” Vallotton apologized to victims “who experienced [Bolz’s] inappropriate and sexually harassing culture, and those who struggled to process or made life decisions as a result of prophetic words that they’d received.”
“When one of the victims of [Bolz’s] sexual allegations reached out to me for help in this crisis, after several conversations and phone calls,” Vallotton admitted, “I made a decision to remove his access to me without compassion due to my personal overwhelm.” Bethel Church, he added, should “remain a place of restoration for leaders, but not at the expense of protecting the flock.”
