Four months after Fount Church’s board said an outside investigation exonerated its founding pastors of financial wrongdoing, founding pastor Josh Kelsey has left the New York City megachurch, permanently relocating to Australia.
Fount Church Founder Josh Kelsey / Video screenshot
His departure follows months of turmoil involving disputed credit-card charges, competing financial reviews, the resignation of the church’s newly elected treasurer, and unresolved questions about the independence and transparency of Fount’s governing board. The church is also working to place itself under the oversight of Kingdomcity, an Australia-based global church movement.
Kelsey’s departure does not establish that the financial controversy caused his exit. Fount has described the move as a family decision and praised Kelsey’s 13 years of leadership. But the transition leaves unanswered questions first raised in a preliminary review of nearly $1.4 million in credit-card transactions.
In February, MinistryWatch reported that accounting firm CapinCrouse reviewed nine years of spending on church credit cards Josh Kelsey and his wife, Georgie, used. The firm treated the expenses as personal unless they had a documented ministry purpose and independent approval. Under that standard, it categorized over $900,000 as personal and another $222,916 as unclassifiable because supporting records were missing. Josh Kelsey denied wrongdoing and said the review lacked context.
Fount’s newly elected board hired Dentons, a multinational law firm, to conduct a separate investigation. In a seven-page statement on March 30 to the church community, later posted by the independent website FountTransparency.org, the board said Dentons reviewed more than 11,000 transactions and found no evidence that Josh or Georgie Kelsey committed fraud, embezzlement, or intentional misappropriation. The board called the earlier $1.4 million allegation “fundamentally flawed.”
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The church did not publicly release the Dentons report, which board president Frank Wheatley told The Roys Report totaled 455 pages. Instead, he provided the outlet with a six-page summary written by the board. The summary said the original $1.4 million figure included transactions made by numerous employees and volunteers — not solely the Kelseys.
The board’s summary said Kelsey reimbursed the church $31,852 for personal charges. It also identified approximately $214,000 in board-approved expenses that should have been reported as taxable compensation rather than church business expenses. The board blamed weak procedures and misunderstandings of tax requirements and said investigators found no evidence the errors were intentional.
Fount announced Kelsey’s departure during its July 5 service. The board later told The Roys Report he would remain in Australia full time but did not disclose any severance arrangement, continuing compensation, or process for selecting his successor.
Olusegun Olujide, a Fount pastor and board member, said Kingdomcity would provide Fount with “covering and leadership.”
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