Ep. 413: My Faith Votes, Turning Point USA, Gateway Church
On today’s program, Jason Yates—the former president of the Christian advocacy group My Faith Votes—has been charged with possession of child pornography. We’ll have details.
Plus, Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA is rallying young people to become active in politics by establishing chapters on Christian college campuses. We’ll take a look.
And, results from our quarterly survey of ministry leaders—revenue decline remains the top ministry challenge.
But first, Gateway Church has removed four of its elders over former pastor Robert Morris’ sexual abuse scandal. Four elders at Gateway Church, whose senior pastor Robert Morris stepped down earlier this year, have been removed after the results of a law firm’s investigation of sexual abuse allegations against the pastor were announced in a sermon on Sunday (Nov. 3).
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Kathryn Post, Tony Mator, James Russell, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.
Until next time, may God bless you.
MANUSCRIPT
FIRST SEGMENT
Warren:
Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Natasha:
And I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado. And we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast.
Warren:
On today’s program, Jason Yates—the former president of the Christian advocacy group My Faith Votes—has been charged with possession of child pornography. We’ll have details.
Plus, Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA is rallying young people to become active in politics by establishing chapters on Christian college campuses. We’ll take a look.
And, results from our quarterly survey of ministry leaders—revenue decline remains the top ministry challenge.
Natasha:
But first, Gateway Church has removed four of its elders over former pastor Robert Morris’ sexual abuse scandal.
Warren:
Four elders at Gateway Church, whose senior pastor Robert Morris stepped down earlier this year, have been removed after the results of a law firm’s investigation of sexual abuse allegations against the pastor were announced in a sermon on Sunday (Nov. 3).
The removals are the latest responses by one of the country’s largest evangelical Christian churches to allegations brought by Cindy Clemishire in June that Gateway’s founding pastor, Robert Morris, 63, had molested her in the 1980s, when Morris was in his 20s and she was 12.
Natasha:
Soon afterward, also in June, the church retained law firm Haynes and Boone to conduct an investigation, what did they find?
Warren:
Church elder Tra Willbanks announced on Sunday, the investigation found that all but three elders had been aware of Morris’ history with Clemishire, now 54, and her age at the time of the alleged abuse.
While Willbanks declined to identify the elders who were removed, the names of elders Jeremy Carrasco, Kevin Grove, Gayland Lawshe and Thomas Miller no longer appear on the church website, according to multiple news accounts.
Natasha:
The investigation’s results also prompted reforms to Gateway’s leadership structure and bylaws.
Warren:
Church staff will no longer serve as elders. Willbanks said, “We must bring this level of independence and objectivity to our eldership, and it has been lacking in the years past,”
The summer’s allegations prompted state legislators to call for changing the statute of limitations for sexual assault, harsher penalties for mandatory reporters who fail to follow up on accusations and reforming nondisclosure agreements for sexual abuse survivors. Secular and religious advocacy organizations have been pushing for such reforms, as well as the elimination of the use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual assault cases.
Natasha:
Next, Former MY Faith Votes CEO has been charged with serious crimes.
Warren:
Jason C. Yates, the former CEO of My Faith Votes, has been charged with eight felony counts of possession of child pornography.
Each of the eight charges, filed in McLeod County, Minnesota, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. Yates has a prior conviction and is a registered predatory offender.
According to court records, Yates was released on his own recognizance on November 4. As a condition of his release, he is to have no contact with persons under the age of 18.
Natasha:
How did this come to light?
Warren:
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began its investigation into Yates’ alleged crimes on July 31.
The probable cause statement also includes descriptions of eight of the images, which allegedly include children between 5 and 7 years of age.
In September, officers met with Yates, and he admitted to having a prior conviction for child pornography that had been expunged.
Natasha:
Sadly we have a similar story from Texas.
Warren:
A former volunteer youth leader at Beltway Park Church, a multi-site large Southern Baptist congregation in Abilene, Texas, has been charged with possession of child pornography.
Natasha:
What’s has happened since?
Warren:
At the time of reporting, Goff was being held in the Taylor County jail on $100,000 bond.
Beltway learned about Goff’s actions in June 2024 and immediately contacted the proper authorities, according to the letter sent to the congregation by the lead pastor.
Goff had been a youth volunteer for about three years, starting in 2022. He passed a routine background check before he became an active volunteer, the letter said, and again in 2024 as part of the routine background check protocol.
“[W]e currently have no indication that any minors from our church were involved in any inappropriate activity with this former volunteer,” Beltway Park’s letter stated. “We have tremendous grief for any children in any location who may be proven to have been harmed by this person’s actions.”
Natasha:
Let’s look at one more story before our break.
Warren:
The principal of a now-closed Missouri boarding school that has been the subject of abuse allegations has been charged with sex crimes involving a former student.
Craig Wesley Smith Jr., who was the principal of Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont, was charged with forcible sodomy and attempted forcible rape, according to ABC News.
According to allegations in the probable cause statement, Smith told the girl he would kill her and “make it look like she committed suicide” if she told anyone about the abuse.
Natasha:
And this isn’t the first time Smith has been accused.
Warren:
A 2009 federal lawsuit also accused Smith of sex acts with an unnamed female student, but it isn’t clear if that alleged victim is the same one involved in the present criminal case.
Natasha:
Multiple people at that school have been accused of abuse.
Warren:
In March 2024, the Musgraves were arrested on first-degree kidnapping and abuse charges. However, on October 15, a Wayne County judge dismissed the charges.
Caleb Sandoval, son of the school’s director Julio Sandoval, was also charged with abuse of a child for injuring a 15-year-old boy while boxing. In July, he pleaded guilty and was given five years of probation.
ABM Ministries closed Lighthouse Christian Academy in March after the Musgraves’ arrests and the Missouri Department of Social Services began investigating whether the boarding school effectively addressed calls to an abuse hotline about the facility in the past.
Natasha:
Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, the next in our series highlighting a group engaged in the ‘new paradigm’ of missions…training local missionaries to reach their own people.
I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and we’ll have that story and much more, after this short break.
BREAK
SECOND SEGMENT
Natasha:
Welcome back. I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch podcast.
Next, the story we promised before the break.
Warren:
This is another in the MinistryWatch series highlighting groups engaged in the “new paradigm” in missions: equipping near-culture missionaries to reach their own people.
Christians are operating a general store in northern Nigeria “under the nose” of terrorist group Boko Haram, reaching their neighbors with the Gospel and hosting a worship service in their store’s back room.
They are indigenous or near-culture disciple makers who have been trained under a model developed by Global Disciples.
For 28 years, Global Disciples has been committed to training indigenous or near-culture leaders to make Christian disciples among their own people.
Natasha:
How do they do that?
Warren:
Founder Galen Burkholder said that rather than sending western missionaries to plant churches, Global Disciples works with a local cluster of churches to develop a training program for their own people to be near-culture disciple makers. Then the new converts want to gather and grow spiritually so they establish churches.
According to Global Disciples, 2,500 disciple makers were trained around the world by the nearly 3,500 active training programs operating in 76 countries around the world last year. More than 69,000 new believers were reached with the Gospel based on the efforts of the over 25,000 disciple makers that have been trained in these programs.
Natasha:
That’s amazing! What areas are they serving?
Warren:
Some of the most active discipleship training programs are in Africa and South Asia, often in some of the least-reached areas. For instance, Global Disciples has 231 training programs across the country of Myanmar and are reaching people with the Gospel in remote villages.
In the MinistryWatch database, Global Disciples has a 3-star financial efficiency rating, an A transparency grade, and a high donor confidence score of 98
Natasha:
Next, is the latest for Charlie Kirk’s Turning point USA.
Warren:
Charlie Kirk’s fall 2024 “You’re Being Brainwashed” tour is an effort to help students “challenge left-wing indoctrination on college campuses.” TPUSA has already signed up nearly 800 college chapters, but the event at GCU, established by Baptists but now calling itself interdenominational, is part of Kirk’s recent push to populate evangelical Christian campuses with TPUSA chapters.
Since 2020, TPUSA chapters have appeared at more than 45 Christian colleges or universities, at least 35 of them affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the largest association of Christian schools.
Natasha:
What do these groups do?
Warren:
Students at Christian colleges who have launched or joined TPUSA chapters said in interviews this fall that the group helps build community and gives them a place to discuss conservative values.
Many TPUSA Christian college chapters have hosted debate watch parties and have plans for election night gatherings. At Liberty, local and federal politicians are expected to attend the chapter’s formal election night gala.
According to Matt Boedy, a professor of religious rhetoric at the University of North Georgia, TPUSA’s “star-studded” conferences, big-name speakers and viral political debates make TPUSA a more attractive option than a College Republicans chapter.
The TPUSA’s funding. Tax filings from June 2023 showed that TPUSA took in $81.7 million, up from $2.05 million in 2015.
Natasha:
Next, a Pro-Life Charity Watchlist Warns About Some Christian Ministries.
Warren:
The American Life League (ALL) has renewed and revamped its Charity Watchlist over the last year to provide potential pro-life donors with information about the pro-life positions and/or values of well-known charitable organizations.
Currently, the list evaluates over 150 organizations on their pro-life positions through their websites, confirmed news reports, and correspondence. ALL chooses the charities it evaluates based on inquiries and requests it receives, and it updates the watchlist regularly. Nearly 125,000 users have viewed the Charity Watchlist so far this year, Katie Brown, ALL’s national director told MinistryWatch.
Natasha:
A lot of evangelical ministries got failing grades. Why?
Warren:
We asked ALL and pro-life leader Scott Klusendorf about ALL’s list and some of the ratings.
Klusendorf said, “Generally speaking, any pro-life group that does not follow ALL’s Catholic teachings is not going to get a favorable rating from them. My own opinion is that ALL is more of a Catholic watchdog group than a pro-life one.”
Natasha:
One difference between Catholics and many evangelicals surrounds the issue of contraception.
Warren:
Klusendorf said he thinks it’s damaging to make contraceptive policy an acid test for pro-life advocacy, distinguishing between contraception that prevents pregnancy and abortion that intentionally kills another human being.
That said, Some of the Christian ministries in the MinistryWatch database that are rated green by ALL are American Heritage Girls, Barnabas Aid, Food for the Poor, and Mercy Chefs.
Natasha:
What about the groups that failed the ALL test?
Warren:
Groups rated red include ChildFund, Christian Appalachian Project, Compassion International, Heifer International, Mercy Ships, Salvation Army, and YMCA.
According to ALL, ChildFund educates children about contraception, abortion, and LGBTQ rights.
Compassion International does not support abortion nor supply contraception, but ALL says it still “promotes contraception” and educates women about “natural contraception” as a form of family planning.
Mercy Ships gets a red rating from ALL because it will perform tubal ligations on women “if a patient’s doctor thinks that pregnancy would be dangerous to the health of the mother and only in accordance with the fistula repair surgeries they perform.”
In the MinistryWatch database, ALL receives the highest financial efficiency rating of five stars, a D transparency grade, and a donor confidence score of 63 out of 100, meaning donors should give with caution.
Natasha:
Warren, we’re going to take another break. When we return, our lightning round of ministry news of the week.
I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith. More in a moment.
BREAK
THIRD SEGMENT
Natasha:
Welcome back. I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch Podcast.
Warren, we like to use this last segment as a sort of lightning round of shorter news briefs.
What’s up first?
Warren:
While high inflation and a slow economic recovery strain Americans’ wallets, the post-pandemic years have been a boon for family foundations.
A new survey conducted by the National Center for Family Philanthropy suggests that since 2020, the percentage of foundations with assets of $10 million or more has nearly doubled.
However, the survey found that while “family foundations’ asset sizes have increased…there has only been a small increase in payout rates, leaving a great deal of inactive capital.”
Natasha:
What’s next?
Warren:
Nearly 10% of Christian ministry leaders told MinistryWatch their ministry’s revenue has declined more than 10% over the last 12 months. That represents the highest response we have received showing a decrease in revenue since beginning the survey in October 2022.
In July’s survey, about 8% of ministry executives told MinistryWatch their revenue had fallen by greater than 10%.
Fundraising remains the largest challenge cited by 36% of ministry executives, not a surprising result given the reports of declining revenue.
As we’ve reported in the past, more women are at the helm of Christian ministries than those leading secular businesses. According to Investopedia, in 2023 there were 52 women leading Fortune 500 companies, just breaking the 10% mark.
Natasha:
Who is in our Ministry Spotlight this week?
Warren:
This week, Pioneer Bible Translators’ overall MinistryWatch rating rose from 1 star to 2 stars.
Pioneer is a translation organization based out of Dallas. According to its website, “The goal of Pioneer Bible Translators isn’t just translation, but transformation. We bring people to Jesus through Bible translation and church planting, combined with discipleship, incarnational ministry, and the use of translated Scripture.”
The organization’s Donor Confidence Score (DCS) is 62 – “Exercise Caution.” It lost points in this category due to its board structure and overall efficiency rating, which is less than three stars. MinistryWatch requires an organization to have a board between 5 and 11 members. Pioneer has 16 board members.
In 2023, Pioneer Bible Translators had a revenue of $22.2 million and its total expenses were $20 million.
According to its 2023 Annual Report, the organization has published “5 complete Bibles and 24 New Testaments since 1976.”
Natasha:
And who did Christina Darnell highlight in our Ministries Making a Difference column?
Warren:
Last month, Children’s Relief International dispatched a team to North Carolina to assist in Hurricane Helene relief efforts by conducting welfare checks, delivering supplies, removing fallen trees, and praying with survivors.
Children’s Relief International has 4 stars and an “A” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 93.
Members of Mecklenburg Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, made 99 meals in October to give to foster families. The church’s children’s ministry, MecKidz, started Fill the Freezer for Foster Families in 2022 as one of its fall monthly missions. In the three years MecKidz has done the month-long initiative, it has collected about 250 freezer meals. The church provides “meal kits”—an aluminum pan, recipe, and information about fostering for both kids and adults—for families to use in making the meals, and the church distributes them to organizations and families within the foster/adoptive community.
Natasha:
Warren, any final thoughts before we go?
Warren:
Webinar: November 14. Ask me Anything.
Year end fundraising. Please be generous.
Natasha:
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Kathryn Post, Tony Mator, James Russell, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.
I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado.
Warren:
And I’m Warren Smith, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Natasha:
You’ve been listening to the MinistryWatch podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.
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