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Gateway Church (Texas)

Coordinates: 32°56′21″N 97°07′17″W / 32.939123°N 97.121525°W / 32.939123; -97.121525
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Gateway Church
Service in 2011
Map
CountryUnited States
DenominationNon-denominational charismatic
Websitegatewaypeople.com
History
Founded23 April 2000 (Easter)
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Vacant

Gateway Church is a non-denominational, evangelical Christian multi-site megachurch based in Southlake, Texas, near Fort Worth.[1] As of 2023, it was ranked as the 9th largest in the United States, with attendance of 25,805.[2] In 2024, its founding pastor, Robert Morris, resigned after allegations of past sexual abuse of a minor.[3][4] Max Lucado, of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, became the interim teaching pastor, and Joakim Lundqvist of Sweden also has interim pastoral duties.[5][6]

History

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On September 16, 1999, Pastor Robert Morris began to plan an evangelistic church in Southlake, Texas. Gateway Church's first service was held on Easter morning, April 23, 2000, at the Hilton Hotel in Grapevine. Approximately 180 people attended the service. The church grew, and moved to an old movie theater in Grapevine. In June 2003 the church moved into its first permanent building, a 600-seat, 64,000-square-foot (5,900 m2) facility on Southlake Blvd. In 2010 Gateway opened its current facility, a 64-acre (26 ha) property with a 4,000-seat sanctuary.

In 2017, Gateway Church downsized their staff by 10-15 percent.[7]

Sexual abuse and harassment cases

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In April 2024, the church, while denying liability, settled a 2020 lawsuit brought by the family of a child who alleged that five pastors had concealed the sexual abuse she received from a youth leader in 2018.[8]

In June 2024, the church settled with a woman who alleged in a 2023 case that she worked as an administrative assistant for a Gateway Church pastor who sexually harassed her and that the church fired her while giving the pastor two-years severance.[9]

Robert Morris allegations and resignations

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On June 15, 2024, Robert Morris admitted to what he characterized as a "moral failure" involving a pre-teen girl (described by Morris only as a "young lady"[10]) that is alleged to have occurred from 1982 through 1987 when he was a young minister. This alleged serial sexual abuse occurred over a five-year period, beginning when the child was 12 years old and ending when the child was 17.[10] This admission appeared shortly after his accuser, Cindy Clemishire, accused Morris of molesting her for four and a half years dating to December 1982, when Clemishire was 12 years old.[11][12] Morris described his behavior as mere "petting" while the victim alleges eventual "rape by instrumentation"[13] (penetration that is not intercourse). The alleged victim is now in her 50s. In a statement reportedly sent to church staff by the elders of the church, the elders said that: “Since the resolution of this 35-year-old matter, there have been no other moral failures ... Pastor Robert has walked in purity, and he has placed accountability measures and people in his life. The matter has been properly disclosed to church leadership.”[10]

Shortly after the church elders learned additional details of the allegations, including the alleged victim's age and length of the supposed abuse, Robert Morris tendered his resignation, which was accepted.[14] However, according to Cindy Clemishire, "Gateway received actual notice of this crime in 2005 when I sent an email directly to Robert Morris’ Gateway email address. Former Gateway elder, Tom Lane, received and responded to my email, acknowledging that the sexual abuse began on December 25, 1982, when I was 12 years old".[15]

Evangelical Daystar Television Network announced it was removing all Robert Morris programming from its broadcast schedule.[16][17] Morris programs were broadcast every day except Saturday.[18]

Robert Morris's son, James Morris, was the Associate Senior Pastor and had been set to take over in 2025.[19][20] On the advice of lawyers, the Board of Elders as well as James Morris had stepped back to allow an investigation. Weeks later, James Morris and his wife agreed to resign from all duties at the church.[21]

In August 2024, the church announced that a fourth high-ranking member, executive pastor Kemtal Glasgow, was asked to resign over an unspecified "moral issue".[22][23] In October 2024, it was reported that about 20,000 members or nearly 25% of the churches entire membership had left the church following the scandal.[24] In November 2024, Gateway removed four elders from their leadership roles at the church, announcing that the elders in question either knew that Robert Morris had molested a girl starting in 1982 or had failed to inquire into the matter after being informed about it.[25]

Campuses

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Worship in 2010, old Southlake Campus

In 2008, the church began work on a new main campus located along State Highway 114. The project included a 4,000-seat sanctuary. It opened on November 13, 2010.[26] Mark Jobe, father of contemporary Christian singer Kari Jobe, serves as the Campus Pastor.[27]

In early 2019, Gateway Church announced it was starting a ministry inside the Coffield Unit, the largest prison in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It is open to minimum security inmates (and, with special permission, medium security inmates) but all inmates may obtain church materials.[28] The church also ministers at the Estes Unit outside of Venus.[29] Stephen Wilson, who earned his masters from Liberty University[30] and has ministered in prisons previously,[31] serves as the leader of both of these prison efforts. The church uses the term 'campus' in describing each prison outreach program.

Ministries

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The King's University at Gateway

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The King's University was founded in 1997 by Jack W. Hayford.[32] in Van Nuys, California. In September 2012, The King's University at Gateway was launched. The school offers full accredited undergraduate, master's, and a doctorate degree.[33]

Gateway Worship

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Main article: Gateway Worship

Gateway Church utilizes its worship band to lead worship services and create original music that it sells on a commercial record label. Its Live album God Be Praised was released on November 9, 2010,[34] with Japanese, Korean and Portuguese versions released in 2012.[citation needed] The live album, Walls, which was released on October 2, 2015, reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums Chart.[34]

Notable members

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References

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  1. ^ a b Charlotte Stewart (November 13, 2010). "New building opens at Gateway Church". Longview News-Journal. p. C1.
  2. ^ "Outreach 100". Outreach. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Trivett, Abby. "BREAKING NEWS: Robert Morris Resigns as Pastor of Gateway Church". Charisma. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Hixenbaugh, Mike (June 18, 2024). "Pastor Robert Morris resigns from Gateway Church after child sex abuse allegation". NBC News. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  5. ^ Davisson, Matthew (July 26, 2024). "Well-known pastor Max Lucado set to take on new role at Gateway Church". CBS News. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Chavez, Nicole (August 29, 2024). "Texas megachurch faces exodus of worshippers after a sex abuse scandal set off a summer of turmoil". CNN. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  7. ^ Nicholas Sakelaris. "Southlake-based Gateway Church confirms it will cut staff by 10-15 percent". Star-Telegram. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  8. ^ Blair, Leonardo (July 7, 2024). "Gateway Church settled lawsuit after multiple pastors accused of covering up sexual assault of minor". The Christian Post. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  9. ^ Jenkins, S. E. (July 10, 2024). "Gateway Church settles lawsuits alleging child sex assault, harassment: "God gave her cancer to teach her a lesson"". CBS News. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Southlake megachurch pastor Robert Morris accused of sexual abuse in the 1980s". Dallas News. June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Blair, Leonardo (June 15, 2024). "Pastor Robert Morris confesses to "moral failure" after woman claims he began molesting her at age 12". The Christian Post. Christian Post. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  12. ^ "I Was 12 Years Old and Wearing My Pink Pajamas When Robert Morris, Now of Gateway Church, Began to Molest Me. The Alleged Abuse Lasted for 4 1/2 Years". The Wartburg Watch. June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  13. ^ Stogsdill, Sheila (June 15, 2024). "BREAKING: Gateway Pastor Robert Morris Admits 'Moral Failure' After Allegations of Sexually Abusing 12-Year-Old". The Roys Report. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  14. ^ Rogers, Chase (June 18, 2024). "Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris resigns after sex abuse allegations surface". The Dallas Morning Times.
  15. ^ "Did the Gateway Pastors/Elders Purposely Mislead Members Who Inquired About Cindy Clemishire? You Decide. | The Wartburg Watch 2024". June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  16. ^ dee (June 19, 2024). "Daystar Television Network Is Removing All of Robert Morris Programming and Broadcasting". The Wartburg Watch. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  17. ^ @Daystar (June 19, 2024). "A Statement from Daystar Television Network" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Blair, Leonardo (June 20, 2024). "Daystar Television removes Robert Morris content from network after child sex abuse allegations". The Christian Post. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "James Morris". Gateway Church. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  20. ^ Castillo, Jackie (June 17, 2024). Woman shares Dallas-area pastor allegedly molested her when she was 12 years old | CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via www.cnn.com.
  21. ^ Hudson, Giles (July 26, 2024). "Shakeup at Gateway Church continues, Pastor Robert Morris' son latest to step down". CBS News. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  22. ^ Limehouse, Jonathon (August 30, 2024). "Gateway Church exodus: Another leader out at Texas megachurch over 'moral issue'". USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Cardenas, Frank (August 25, 2024). "Texas megachurch Pastor Kemtal Glasgow resigns from Gateway Church after 'moral issue'". MYSA. San Antonio News. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  24. ^ Killelea, Eric. "Gateway sexual abuse investigation nearing its end, church says". CHRON. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  25. ^ Vargas, Ramon Antonio (November 5, 2024). "Texas church removes four elders over Trump-linked founder's abuse of girl, 12, in 1980s". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  26. ^ "Gateway Church opens new campus". MySouthlakeNews.com. November 25, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  27. ^ "Mark Jobe". Gateway Church. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  28. ^ "Gateway Church Seeing Revival, 500 Salvations at Its New Prison Church Campus". CBN News. February 4, 2019.
  29. ^ "Gateway Church". gatewaypeople.com.
  30. ^ "Gateway Church". gatewaypeople.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  31. ^ "Texas megachurch opens new campus in maximum-security prison: 'Our brothers and sisters in Christ'". Fox News. January 31, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  32. ^ Moore, S. David (October 1, 2020). Pastor Jack: The Authorized Biography of Jack Hayford. David C Cook. ISBN 978-0-8307-8112-6.
  33. ^ "TKU – Accreditation and Assessment". TKU.edu. 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  34. ^ a b Billboard AllMusic
  35. ^ S.L. Price (June 11, 2012). "The Curse of Bigness". Sports Illustrated.
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32°56′21″N 97°07′17″W / 32.939123°N 97.121525°W / 32.939123; -97.121525

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