Lawsuit Alleges Miami Pastor Used Church Credit Card to Finance Affairs
Brave Church of Miami and four members of the church’s board of directors have been dropped from a lawsuit alleging that its pastor, David Stocker, Jr., engaged in extramarital affairs with at least three members of his congregation and used a church credit card to fund activities, including a trip to New York City.
Stocker remains the sole defendant in the case filed May 24 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court by Peninsular Florida District Council (PenFlorida), an Assemblies of God umbrella organization that oversees more than 300 churches, including Brave Church, the Miami New Times reported.
The woman he took to New York and on other trips reported him to PenFlorida and provided investigators with hundreds of texts, photos, and videos as evidence.
The lawsuit says Stocker violated church bylaws by refusing to resign after a PenFlorida investigation found he was guilty of “gross sexual misconduct and immoral actions.” The investigation also found that others, including board members, were discouraged from reporting him to protect his reputation.
The suit also alleges that Stocker abused alcohol, including getting so drunk at a Miami Heat professional basketball game that he wandered onto the court, and that he also acted “erratically” on other occasions.
Some of the alleged misconduct took place while Stocker was still legally married to his now ex-wife Christina, the suit says. The couple had joined the church staff in 2014 as youth pastors and divorced in 2020.
Attorney Kristin Ahr told the Miami New Times in a written statement that the church and its board have “amicably resolved” the matter with PenFlorida through a “very friendly settlement.”
She confirmed that Brave Church remains affiliated with PenFlorida and the Assemblies of God, and that Stocker is no longer leading the church.
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