Texas Pastor Speaks out About Chi Alpha Sexual Abuse Scandal
J.R. Armstrong of Orange, Texas, believes it is right to acknowledge and support sexual abuse victims and is calling on national Assemblies of God leaders to do the same.
A pastor in Southeast Texas has spoken out publicly about the Chi Alpha college ministry scandals. He is the first known Assembly of God pastor to do so.
J.R. Armstrong, pastor of Mauriceville All Gospel (MAG) Church, a congregation of about 175 in Orange, Texas, spoke about the scandal from the pulpit on August 13. Armstrong has been a pastor in the Assemblies of God for over a decade and has been at MAG Church since April 2019.
Armstrong began his statement by playing for the MAG congregation a message from the Assemblies of God General Superintendent Doug Clay at the General Council meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in early August.
In that message, Clay mentioned the Chi Alpha college ministry and acknowledged “hiccups tied to shortcomings.” He said, however, “The failure of some individuals never trumps the strength, purpose, and vitality of the particular ministry.” He proceeded to have the council gathering pray for the campus leaders and students.
Chi Alpha World Fellowship, a network of Christian ministries sponsored by the Assemblies of God has a presence on more than 300 college campuses. It has been the subject of scrutiny since several leaders associated with the ministry have been implicated in sexual abuse scandals.
Former Baylor University campus minister Chris Hundl and his mentor Daniel Savala were indicted by a McLennan County, Texas grand jury on September 14 for indecency with a child and trafficking of persons.
“I didn’t come to be sensational,” Armstrong began his message to the MAG congregation. “I’m in the minority. Some out of ignorance and some out of willful ignorance,” he said about the lack of pastors speaking publicly about the Chi Alpha sex abuse scandals.
He was disturbed that Clay did not acknowledge the victims of sexual and emotional abuse in his General Council message. He called on Clay and others in leadership to “speak up, take responsibility, and where necessary, to resign.”
“I am not an Assemblies of God hater,” Armstrong, who was born and raised attending an Assembly of God congregation, told MinistryWatch. “It’s a disappointment.”
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
“I have a voice in the Assembly of God and to say nothing is not an option for me. I want to be on the right side of history,” he added.
When asked how he’d like to see the Assemblies of God respond, Armstrong said, “I’d like to see them acknowledge the victims and apologize to them for what happened to them. The litigation is coming, so admitting [the victims] exist and supporting them won’t change the liability. It’s just doing what’s right.”
He added that silence from the national level is giving the impression of a lockdown and no transparency.
Armstrong pointed out that Chi Alpha campus ministers get their support from local churches. MAG Church has withdrawn its support for Chi Alpha ministers in Texas, the “epicenter” of the scandal. They support one minister at the University of Louisiana in Monroe because they know him well and trust him.
Additionally, because Chi Alpha is a pipeline to church planting and world missions, MAG Church has suspended its support of world missionaries who came out of the South Texas district of Chi Alpha, Armstrong said, “Until all this is sorted out.”
Ronald Bloomingkemper, the creator of a website to give survivors of sexual and spiritual abuse by Chi Alpha leaders a place to commune, was impressed by Armstrong’s remarks to his congregation.
“What J.R. Armstrong accomplished is nothing short of biblical proportions! He’s a modern-day David, fearlessly confronting the Goliath of an organization,” Bloomingkemper said to MinistryWatch in an email.
“He and fellow ministers in the Assembly of God denomination who’ve reached out to me embody the spirit of godly resistance against a culture of fear and the suffocating grip of good-old-boy loyalty. They’re standing boldly, proclaiming the undeniable truth: that you can’t get away with sin forever,” Bloomingkemper added.
Main photo: Pastor J.R. Armstrong on August 13, 2023 / Video screengrab
