Mississippi’s Broadmoor Church Apologizes, Lists Plan of Action in Response to Abuse Allegations

A Mississippi church recently announced that their former youth pastor participated in an abusive sexual relationship with a minor in the 1980s in a detailed account published on their website. According to the report, the pastor later paid for the survivor’s therapy after she signed a non-disclosure agreement.

The survivor claimed that former youth pastor David Ingram began grooming her when she was 12 years of age for a sexual relationship that started when she was 15 and continued while he was the youth pastor at Broadmoor Baptist Church.

The church published the allegations under a link titled “A Statement About Our Past” on its website menu. In the disclosure, the church shared that upon investigating, they heard consistent accounts verifying the survivor’s disclosures and trauma care, including three of her counselors, and believed them to be true.

The statement confirmed the survivor, her husband, and two of her counselors attended a meeting a few years ago confronting Ingram and his wife about the abuse.

There, Ingram offered a general, non-specific apology and, according to the counselors, “did not attempt to refute or deny anything presented to him in that meeting.” Following this, Ingram made “sizeable” payments to cover the survivor’s therapy, but only after she partook in a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

While the church expressed its grief and love for Ingram, his family, and the survivor and her family, they said they would defend the survivor and assist with certain costs if Ingram sued for breach of the NDA.

The statement also asserted that shortly after David was no longer Broadmoor’s youth pastor, the survivor approached at least one former pastor. The report claimed she addressed the same pastor again in 2019, saying: “This pastor expressed acknowledgment and grief for the wrong she experienced. At this point we do not know what, if any, actions were taken as a result of these requests.”

The survivor alleged she shared aspects of her abuse with pastors and other church leaders starting in 2011. The report said the church provided some care and help at the time but admitted, “we believe a more thorough response was warranted.”

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Ingram is currently the pastor of Tinsley Baptist Church, just 45 minutes from Broadmoor. MinistryWatch reached out to Tinsley Baptist but has yet to hear from them by the publishing of this article. Ingram is also a real estate agent in the Madison area.

Broadmoor listed its plans to engage an independent, third-party firm to investigate the allegations. “We will ensure that the independent firm has full access to all relevant information and publish the results of this assessment publicly,” the account states.

The evaluation will include an examination of the allegations, assessing former policies and practices from the time of the occurrence to identify any factors allowing the abuse, and evaluating pastoral responses during the alleged abuse.

They will also investigate whether other church leadership members knew of the abuse or saw “red flag” behavior. Observing current church culture, policies, and practices to evaluate weaknesses and address them is also listed in the plan of action.

Additionally, church leaders are working with local counselors to provide safe places for the congregation to process the news, address questions, and seek counsel to learn how to care for abuse survivors.

In the closing of the statement, titled “A final word,” the church addressed the survivor directly: “We hear you. We acknowledge your pain. We are so very sorry.”

The church report confirmed it received a response from Ingram’s attorney, who denied the allegations on Ingram’s behalf.