Gateway Church Launches Formal Search for New Senior Pastor, Apologizes to Cindy Clemishire

gateway church
Elder Tra Williams updates Gateway Church on Sunday, July 28. Screengrab from YouTube / @gatewaychurchtv

Share

Gateway Church is launching a formal search for a new senior pastor in the wake of the resignation of founder Robert Morris following allegations that he committed child sexual abuse. Elder Tra Williams gave congregants several updates Sunday, some of which had already been published in the media last week.

“I’m going to update you today on where we are right now, where we’re going for the next six months, and what our long-term plans are,” Williams told the Gateway Church congregation prior to a message from Pastor Max Lucado 

“We felt it was important to communicate to our staff first. Rather than send you a video announcement, we thought it would be better to do it in person, so thank you for allowing that,” Williams explained as the congregation responded with applause. He thanked people for their patience and acknowledged that some might be frustrated when “sometimes we have lacked clarity in our communications. So we understand your frustrations and ask for your continued grace.”

Later, Williams said the elders wanted to prioritize hearing from God “even at the expense of speedy communication.”

Gateway Church Says Farewell to James and Bridgette Morris

Gateway Church is dealing with fallout from allegations a woman named Cindy Clemishire made in mid-June. Clemishire said that Gateway’s founding Pastor Robert Morris sexually abused her in the 1980s starting when she was 12 years old and Morris was in his 20s. 

RELATED: Cindy Clemishire Says Oprah Helped Her Realize Robert Morris’s Alleged Actions Were Abuse

Gateway elders initially responded to Clemishire’s allegations by saying that Morris had already previously acknowledged “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” in his 20s and that he had done everything necessary to repent of that sin and be restored.

On June 18, Gateway elders announced that they had accepted Morris’s resignation and that they had not previously understood the “inappropriate” relationship to have been abusive.

They said they would be conducting an investigation into events within the timeframe Clemishire gave for the alleged abuse.

In a statement obtained by CBS Texas last week, Gateway revealed that Morris’s son, James, would be stepping down as associate pastor and that James’s wife, Bridgette, would be stepping down as executive pastor. James had been the intended successor of his father.

Continue Reading...

Jessica Lea
Jessica is a content editor for ChurchLeaders.com and the producer of The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast. She has always had a passion for the written word and has been writing professionally for the past five years. When Jessica isn't writing, she enjoys West Coast Swing dancing, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.

Read more

Latest Articles