MinistryWatch’s Top 10 Stories for February

The following stories had the most page views at the MinistryWatch website during the month of February. We present them here in a “countdown” format, from 10 to 1. The first few sentences of each story are reproduced below. To read the entire story, click on the link. To read the Top 25 stories of 2025, click here.

10. Seminaries Partner with Kanakuk Institute

By Kim Roberts. At a time when momentum is growing in state legislatures to pass laws prohibiting the use of nondisclosure agreements in cases involving child sexual abuse, three seminaries and one Christian college are partnering with a discipleship and leadership program with connections to Kanakuk Kamps.

9. Abuse Lawsuits Pile Up Against Greg Laurie, Harvest Christian Fellowship

By Kim Roberts. The number of lawsuits filed against Harvest Christian Fellowship’s founder Greg Laurie—related to alleged abuse of young men at a children’s home in Romania—now stands at 12. The original lawsuit was filed in September by two men claiming that Paul Havsgaard abused them at a children’s shelter in Bucharest, Romania.

8. KY Worship Pastor Dies by Suicide After Sex Abuse Arrest

By Stacey Horton. Last week, former Kentucky pastor David Rodgers, 40, killed himself after being arrested on multiple sexual abuse charges, including possession of abuse materials exploiting a minor under 12.

7. Judge Denies Gateway Elders’ Motions to Dismiss

By Kim Roberts. Two former elders of Gateway Church, a Dallas-area megachurch formerly led by Robert Morris, were unsuccessful in seeking dismissal from a civil action for defamation brought by Morris’s abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire.

6. IHOPKC Leader Mike Bickle ‘Permanently Disqualified’ From Church Office

By Kim Roberts. Mike Bickle, former leader of International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC), has “disqualified himself permanently from holding any such high and honorable office anywhere in the Body of Christ in his lifetime,” according to a Pastoral Recommendation Team (PRT) report, convened by Tikkun Ministries.

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5. Missing Agape Flights Plane Found in Haiti, No Survivors

By Isaac Wood. Agape Flights lost contact with a plane on Feb. 5, and search and rescue teams found the plane in the Haitian mountains the next day. Officials believe no one on board survived the crash.

4. Arkansas Assemblies of God Pastor Sued for Sexual Assault

By Kim Roberts. Another lawsuit has been filed against an Assemblies of God church and its pastor for sexual abuse. Suzanne Lander, a resident of Texas, filed a lawsuit on January 26 against Pastor Rodney Loy and the North Little Rock First Assembly of God. Lander claims Loy sexually abused her for a 20-year period from 1996 when she was 16 until 2016 when she was a 36-year-old woman.

3. LCMS District President Arrested, Charged With Child Pornography

By Kim Roberts. The president of the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod was arrested on a federal child pornography charge on Wednesday, January 28, and appeared in court on Thursday.

2. More Controversy at Bethel Church: Ben Armstrong Placed on Leave

By Kim Roberts. Ben Armstrong, pastor and “Overseer of Prophetic Ministry at Bethel Church, Redding,” was placed on administrative leave February 15 amid new allegations of clergy sexual abuse.

1. More Lawsuits Filed Against Greg Laurie and Harvest Christian Fellowship for Mishandling of Abuse Allegations

By Kim Roberts. Another group of plaintiffs, this time including seven women, have filed lawsuits against California megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship and its lead pastor Greg Laurie for sexual abuse they claim to have suffered at the hands of Paul Havsgaard.

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