Texas megachurch faces exodus of worshippers after a sex abuse scandal set off a summer of turmoil
Texas megachurch faces exodus of worshippers after a sex abuse scandal set off a summer of turmoil
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.
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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.
Imagine how much money they’re raking in.
Religion should be private. Better yet, wake up from that long-con and give it up altogether.
With numbers like that it sounds more like a cult with tax exemptions. And why do they have so employees, shouldn't people be happy to do "the work of God" for free as volunteers?
If you do a single thing of value for a MEGAchurch, fucking bill them out the nose. That's not a religion it's GOOP with a significantly more exploitative and evil business model.
Yeah, a megachurch provides only one real source of societal value: a great setting for urban fantasy demons and vampires. Everything else they provide society is a pitiful product at a premium price
They bring new people in and show them a really fun time and then pressure them to sign a payroll deduction form so that their tithe can come directly out of their paychecks.