Fallout at Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College

Donors express concerns, Ligonier claims Stephen Nichols’ exit has no relation to his ‘excommunication’ from St. Andrew’s Chapel.

Dr. Stephen Nichols has been a prominent figure in Christian reformed circles. He was president of Reformation Bible College (RBC) and a teaching fellow at Ligonier Ministries. He was also a member of St. Andrew’s Chapel, the church founded by influential Bible teacher R.C. Sproul.

Reformation Bible College / Photo by Dclemens1971 / Wikimedia Commons CC 4.0

But that all changed recently after he was publicly excommunicated from St. Andrew’s—around the same time RBC and Ligonier announced his departure.

Several long-time supporters of Ligonier have told MinistryWatch they don’t plan to support the ministry any longer due to the fallout from Nichols’ supposed ousting—but Ligonier claims Nichols’ departure is unrelated to the “excommunication.”

Wil Thornhill said he sent a letter to the ministry explaining that the departure of Nichols and his wife Heidi—who was also on the faculty of RBC—was the last straw for him.

Thornhill said he has been a strong supporter of Ligonier, RBC, and St. Andrew’s Chapel, and had even designated a significant gift to Ligonier and RBC in a trust. However, he has now removed those ministries as beneficiaries and chosen others to receive his donations.

One big problem, as Thornhill sees it, is not with the Reformed teaching at RBC or Ligonier, but with the ministries’ lack of transparency with financial information.

He said he vigorously sought financial information from Ligonier, including the salaries of its top executives, but the ministry refused to provide it even though they told him he was among the “top echelon” of givers.

Thornhill is also frustrated by Ligonier’s decision to stop filing a Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service.

Due to that lack of financial transparency and the way the entities treated the Nichols family, Thornhill said, “I no longer trust or have confidence in the leadership.”

In March, Nichols and his wife were publicly “excommunicated” by St. Andrew’s Chapel for contumacy—failure to submit to the authority of the church—even though they had moved their membership to another church before the decision was made.

In January 2025, Nichols claims he had reported allegations of sexual abuse of his daughter by then-youth minister Stephen Adams, who denies the allegations.

Nichols said they reached an “impasse” with church leadership over handling the investigation and began looking for another church.

In response to Nichols’ comments, the church said leadership was not initially told the allegations involved sexual abuse. When they did learn the nature of the allegations, they reported them to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department.

But after suspending Adams to allow for an investigation, the church asserted that the family—the Nichols—“ultimately refused to provide supporting evidence and law enforcement confirmed there were no grounds for investigation,” so Adams resumed his duties.

The church investigated the “former family” and began formal discipline because “their prolonged conduct…disturbed the peace, unity, and purity of the Church.”

Meanwhile, in December 2025, St. Andrew’s Chapel voted to leave the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) after its lead pastor Burk Parsons was placed under discipline and suspended from the office of teaching elder for being “harsh,” “domineering,” and “demeaning.”

After that, the Nichols officially left St. Andrew’s and became members at another PCA church. But that didn’t stop St. Andrew’s from publicly excommunicating the couple.

The Central Florida Presbytery, a regional denominational body of the PCA, issued a statement calling the excommunication of Nichols from St. Andrew’s Chapel “improper, disruptive to the peace of the Church, detrimental to those under our pastoral care, and without ecclesiastical effect within the Presbyterian Church in America.”

Another longtime supporter of Ligonier and former member of St. Andrew’s who asked to remain unnamed expressed similar sentiments. He is especially concerned that Ligonier claims the status of a “church” with the IRS, even though it does not fit the definition of a church according to Reformed teaching about the marks of a true church: preaching the Gospel, administering the sacraments, and exercising church discipline.

He said he finds Ligonier’s choice to be considered a church by the IRS inconsistent and hypocritical based on its own teaching.

When asked about its decision to stop filing a Form 990 with the IRS, Ligonier’s Vice President of Communications Chip Crissey told MinistryWatch said the “association of churches designation” by the IRS reflects “both a long-standing legal framework protecting religious organizations and a closer alignment with our mission as a parachurch ministry that exists to serve and support the global church.”

Crissey noted that Ligonier posts its audited financial statements online and is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

The longtime supporter is also bothered by another inconsistency he senses: the willingness of Ligonier to keep Parsons on its staff while under church discipline but dismissing Nichols.

R.C. Sproul Jr., son of the late Ligonier founder, also finds the treatment of Nichols inconsistent when compared with the treatment of Parsons.

He pointed out that Parsons remained in place on the executive staff of the ministry and on the board while Nichols has parted ways with Ligonier.

“Whether they demanded it, asked for it, or merely accepted it, they allowed Dr. Nichols to resign as a board member, as a teaching fellow and as the president of Reformation Bible College. The same board that at the very least accepted the resignation praised Dr. Nichols for his faithful leadership in their public announcement…while the [elders] of [St. Andrew’s Chapel] describe Nichols as an unbeliever and bar him from the Lord’s Table.”

Sproul Jr. believes his late father would not approve of the recent actions, but argues that the ministry has failed to uphold other wishes of its founder, including bringing his son back to the ministry to “do the work of updating his current books and developing his other teaching into books” after his record for a drunk driving incident was expunged.

Ligonier declined to answer MinistryWatch’s question about considering R.C. Sproul Jr. for any leadership role at the ministry.

According to Ligonier, “Dr. Nichols’ transition was already underway and had been settled before the later church action. Public commentary now includes serious claims, disputed accounts, and separate ecclesiastical matters. There is no formal organizational relationship between Ligonier or RBC and Saint Andrew’s Chapel. We will not comment on personnel matters further beyond our prior announcements, and encourage prayer for all involved.”

As far as Parsons’ discipline by the Presbyterian Church in America and his appeal, Ligonier said it is awaiting the outcome of the appeal process. While Parsons continues to serve as the executive editor of Tabletalk Magazine and as a board member, he “has withdrawn from upcoming public ministry engagements with Ligonier while the appeal is pending.”

Another longtime donor, George Knevelbaard, has decided to end his support for Ligonier Ministries as well.

“The recent actions of the Ligonier Board to ‘transition’ Dr. Nichols from his role as a distinguished Ligonier Teaching Fellow and as the President of RBC plus the actions [of excommunication] by Saint Andrew’s Chapel have soiled the legacy of our dear Dr. Sproul,” he wrote. “This has led us to cease our over-30-year financial support of Ligonier Ministries.”

In response to MinistryWatch’s inquiry about if the ministry has heard from supporters expressing concerns and withdrawing their support, Ligonier’s vice president of communications told MinistryWatch, “We appreciate our supporters worldwide and understand how these matters can be confusing. Many ministry friends have reached out to us in recent weeks simply to say they are praying for us. That has meant a great deal, and we are grateful.”

A source close to the ministry said Ligonier has seen some reductions of donations on the margins, but that things will be “cleared up” when more information is available, and donors will come back around.

Over 50 students at RBC are also asking, “Why is Dr. Stephen Nichols no longer our president?”

In a letter submitted to the ministry, students specifically asked whose decision it was for Nichols to no longer be president, whether the decision was related to St. Andrew’s “excommunication” of Nichols, and for any other details to reassure them about personnel decisions at RBC and Ligonier.

Dr. John Tweedale, vice president of academics and professor of theology at RBC, met with the students on April 16, telling them “the college must ‘honor boundaries’ between the institutions and could not provide further details.”

In the MinistryWatch 1000 Database, Ligonier Ministries receives a Donor Confidence Score of 36, meaning donors should withhold giving.

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