New Life Chapel, a 3,000-congregant church in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester, Ohio, announced Oct. 30 it fired pastor Lonnie Snell a week earlier for “sexual misconduct with a subordinate of consensual age and development.”
Lonnie Snell / Video screengrab
Snell, 54, founded the church in 2010. Reports say it started with three families, grew to 900 people by 2017 and has more than tripled in size since.
Snell and his wife of 32 years, who also served on staff, have four sons, according to a church webpage removed after his firing. One son remains on staff as a youth minister.
The church board said it would investigate Snell’s conduct but did not share specifics. It asked the public “not to use this statement as liberty to conduct your own speculation or investigation; but instead, use it as time to come together in unity to pray for our church, our leadership, and our pastors.”
The church began a formal investigation of Snell on Oct. 21, according to The Roys Report, which said it obtained a recording of board member David Norris announcing the firing. Norris is lead pastor of City Church for All Nations in Bloomington, Indiana, about 100 miles from New Life Chapel.
“I’m so sorry for your church,” Norris said. “I’m sorry for the trust that was broken. I’m sorry for the family, whom I’m friends with, and I’m sorry for the staff. I’m sorry, selfishly, for myself … This is probably one of the hardest days in my life.”
The Roys Report said Norris offered few details in the recording about the investigation or its findings. Norris said an unnamed staff member also was fired but did not say why. That staff member is more than 20 years younger than Snell, according to an unnamed source who spoke with The Roys Report.
Norris said the board hopes to begin an unspecified restoration process that will support the “restoration of Pastor Lonnie.” He did not offer more information.
In a subsequent report, the Roys Report said a New Life Chapel executive team leader has been suspended from their position for the rest of the year for failing to report Snell’s misconduct. The board wrote in a statement the executive’s actions were “below the standard of conduct that is expected at New Life Chapel.”
The statement did not say how the executive knew about Snell’s conduct or how long they kept it quiet.
The church and Norris did not respond to requests for more information.
The firing comes as the church is growing. It was scheduled to submit plans for a new, larger building that could seat more than 1,500 people.
During the Nov. 1 service, New Life Chapel member Randy Thome addressed congregants and thanked them for attending after the firing.
“You can expect when this type of event occurs, you’re going to lose about 50% of your people,” he said. “If you’re a tremendous church, you can expect about 35%. You guys are here. Thank you.”
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