Gateway Church has announced significant changes in response to allegations of sexual abuse by its founder Robert Morris against a 12-year-old girl. The church hired law firm Haynes Boone to conduct an internal investigation, which has now completed its report.
The church’s leadership has removed several top elders, including Gayland Lawshe, Thomas Miller, Kevin Grove, and Jeremy Carrasco, citing biblical and moral values as the reason for their removal. Tra Willbanks, a current elder, stated that all but three of the previous elder group either knew about Morris’ alleged abuse or had some information about it and “failed to inquire further.”
Gateway is cooperating with a criminal investigation into Morris’ actions, but did not disclose which law enforcement agency is handling the case.
The church will also revise its governance structure, removing staff from the elder board, except for the senior pastor and possibly an executive pastor. Willbanks described the previous governance as “a massive failure of culture” that allowed the abuse to be hidden for years.
The church has condemned Morris, stating that his actions were a result of a centralized power structure that prioritized protecting him over accountability. Morris founded Gateway Church in 2000 and built it into one of the largest megachurches in the US before stepping down as senior pastor.
Source: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2024/11/04/what-we-know-about-the-results-of-an-investigation-into-gateway-churchs-founder