Texas megachurch faces exodus of worshippers after a sex abuse scandal set off a summer of turmoil

Summer was off to a tumultuous start when allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced on a blog dedicated to Christian survivor stories. This time, the man involved had gone on to lead one of America’s largest megachurches.

Robert Morris, who founded and led Gateway Church for nearly 25 years in the affluent Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, Texas, resigned after the scandal came to light in June. His exit sent thousands of evangelicals into a season of struggle that has lasted months.

Last week, a pastor who oversaw all of Gateway’s campuses departed amid an undisclosed “moral issue,” becoming the latest in a series of changes for the church: The cancellation of its annual conference. The departure of Morris’ successor. The renaming of its Houston campus and an exodus of worshippers.

At each weekend service, worshippers continue to face reminders of the scandal, with interim or guest pastors kicking off their sermons saying “I’m sorry,” talking about grief or finding hope in difficult times. They’ve noticed people who have sat and prayed around them for years are once again not showing up for service.

The church has seen a decrease of 17% to 19% in weekend services attendance, a church spokesperson told CNN.

The turnover at the church could have far-reaching effects. Gateway Church draws an estimated 100,000 people to its weekend services and has more than 560 employees at nine locations in Texas, and two others in Missouri and Wyoming, according to the church.

It is considered one of America’s largest megachurches, which are congregations with an average weekly worship attendance of 2,000 people or more. There are nearly 1,800 megachurches in the United States, according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

Morris’ standing as a public figure goes beyond the size of his former congregation. In 2016, he was part of former President Donald Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board, the campaign announced in a news release at the time. Trump also held a roundtable at Gateway’s Dallas campus in 2020 and Morris led a prayer before the event.

The congregation’s “difficult” and “uphill” season – as interim teaching pastor Max Lucado called it in a sermon last weekend – began in June, when Cindy Clemishire’s account of abuse was published in The Wartburg Watch, a church watchdog blog.

Clemishire, 54, told CNN affiliate WFAA Morris molested her in 1982 when she was 12 years old. It started on Christmas Day and it continued until she told her parents in 1987, she said.

Shortly after the allegations surfaced, Morris admitted to having “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” in the 1980s. In its initial response, Gateway Church said the pastor had been “open and forthright about a moral failure” that took place when he was in his 20s and working at another church, and had a two-year “restoration process,” according to statements obtained by WFAA.

It wasn’t until days later that Morris resigned from his role. In a statement announcing the resignation, the Board of Elders of Gateway Church said the group did not have all the facts about Morris’ extramarital relationship, the victim’s age and length of the abuse.

The board said Morris discussed it many times as something that happened before founding the congregation, but he did not mention that it was with a child.

“As an elder, I did not know the truth. And frankly, like so many of you, my wife and I are shocked, devastated and grieving,” Tra Willbanks, one of the megachurch’s elders, told the congregation in a June service.

For about 10 minutes, he was tearful as he spoke about Morris’ resignation from behind a lectern at the center of the stage. “I can’t imagine carrying a burden like that for so many years and I want to say to you, Cindy. I’m so sorry,” he added.

Since then, the church said it hired a law firm to “review the report of past abuse” so it can understand “the facts.” Clemishire alleges at least one church leader knew about the abuse in 2005, she said in a statement to CNN.

If there are other victims, Clemishire said she encourages them to speak up.

“I wholeheartedly and sadly believe I am not the only victim. I encourage anyone who has been sexually victimized by a leader at Gateway Church to take the bold step forward and say something. Now is the time. Please know that you will be supported and will not walk this journey alone,” Clemishire said in her statement.

At least three other pastors have left Gateway Church since Morris’ resignation, unleashing more uncertainty about the future.

Morris’ son James Morris, who was slated to become lead pastor next year, and his wife Bridgette resigned a month after the scandal. They agreed to leave their current roles and step down “from leading Gateway in the future,” the church said in a July 27 statement. He had been asked to take a leave of absence while the law firm conducted its review.

When the couple addressed the congregation one last time during service, they held hands after taking the stage to a standing ovation from worshippers. The young Morris chose to focus his message on the joy and love he felt at the church, while his wife choked up before talking about grief.

“The Lord is giving us vision for the future, but we do grieve, grieve (by) not being here with you,” Bridgette Morris said.

With their departure, the couple chose to allow Gateway “to have a fresh start,” said Willbanks, who introduced them at the service.

Three current elders who served on the board from 2005 to 2007 were placed on leave while the law firm’s review is conducted, the church said. The men are following a recommendation made by the law firm and have said “they had no knowledge of the true facts of this situation,” according to a June 28 statement by the church.

Another pastor, Kemtal Glasgow, was dismissed over an unspecified “moral issue,” the church announced last week. Glasgow’s role was overseeing all of Gateway’s campuses.

“We were informed last week of a moral issue, which we believe, as elders, disqualifies him from serving in the role that he had at Gateway,” Willbanks said in a video statement. “We love his family, we love his wife and his kids, and we want to come alongside them during this difficult time and help them find restoration and healing that they need as a family.”

Gateway Church spokesperson Lawrence Swicegood acknowledged the church asked Glasgow to step down because of his “moral failure,” he told CNN Wednesday. “To be clear, this decision regarding Kemtal had nothing to with the departure of Robert Morris nor related to those circumstances.”

Morris’ son-in-law said his church cut ties with Morris earlier this summer, and he recently announced the rebranding of his congregation from Gateway Church Houston to Newlands Church.

Senior Pastor Ethan Fisher, who is married to Morris’ daughter Elaine, has said his church was supported by Gateway since it launched in 2020, but operates as an “autonomous church, both financially and legally.”

“I believe that during this season, as a church, that God is once again calling us into something new, and I simply want to follow,” Fisher told the congregation.

Church members have been torn over whether to continue attending. Lou Comunale, a longtime church member, told CNN affiliate KTVT he attended a June service and has seen that leaders are not “hiding behind the shame.”

“I think it was on target. I think he did not hide behind the shame … that it brought to the church but we went beyond that and we’re not just looking to one man, we’re looking to Jesus Christ and this church is going to thrive because they fessed up,” Comunale said about Willbanks addressing the congregation.

The week the allegations surfaced, several people held a protest outside the church while Sunday service was underway. They held signs in support of Clemishire, carrying messages that read “Justice 4 Cindy,” “She was 12” and “They Knew.”

For Emily High, the 17 years she spent as a church member came to a halt because she felt betrayed, she said.

“It’s anger, it’s all the range of emotions,” High told WFAA. “Being a pedophile, a molester, that’s not OK.”

As the search for a new pastor is underway, the two interim pastors have been splitting weekend duties. Pastor Joakim Lundqvist, a leader of a megachurch in Sweden, has shared how his own congregation faced and overcame several crises. Lucado, an author and church leader in San Antonio, Texas, encouraged the Gateway community to think about what’s next.

“I am confident that this season, which is a difficult uphill into the wind season, will result in a second wind, a new season, a time in which the church will be better because of it, and stronger on the other side of it,” Lucado said last weekend.

They hope to help worshippers heal and stay united.