Worship Leader Matt Redman Speaks Up About Abuse by UK Pastor
Redman and Mike Pilavachi co-founded Soul Survivor in 1993. Pilavachi now accused of abuse
In a recent Facebook post, popular worship leader Matt Redman reported that both he and his wife had suffered “harmful behavior and mistreatment” at the hands of their former pastor Mike Pilavachi. Pilavachi and Redman co-founded Soul Survivor, a ministry that began as an evangelistic festival and camp for teens and eventually morphed into a network of churches over the next three decades.
“I have spent years trying to fully heal from my time at Soul Survivor—and, painfully, I now know this to be the case for a lot of other people too,” Redman said. Redman claims he had been vocal about the behavior but was rebuffed by Soul Survivor’s leadership. “A good number of those who have spoken to the investigation, including my wife Beth and myself, had come forward previously at the time of being mistreated – but were ignored, patronised (sic) or gaslit by those in leadership.”
Redman says the harm was wide ranging—including physical, psychological, and spiritual—and the victims of Mike’s “mistreatment” totaled more than 100 people. Matt tells of an ongoing “failure of care” by Soul Survivor leadership.
The church that Pilavachi had pastored at, Soul Survivor Watford, had remained largely silent on abuse allegations until reports were submitted to the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team and an investigation was launched on April 2.
At the time, Pilavachi and the church agreed “he would step back from all ministry activities while the investigation was carried out.” Then on May 20 the church suspended him. “It has become clear that this more decisive action should have been made earlier and we have acted to correct this now,” the church said in a statement. On July 11, Pilavachi resigned as pastor.
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According to other media reports, accusations against Pilavachi range from emotional abuse to the grooming and abuse of young men. Some of the victims allege Mike asked them to undress and then would give them full-body oil massages. Others said they participated in wrestling matches that made them “uncomfortable.”
In his resignation letter, Pilavachi said, “I have taken this step because the church needs to heal and I have realized that my continued presence will only hurt that process.” Soul Survivor Watford also suspended two other pastors, Senior Pastor Andy Croft and Assistant Pastor Ali Martin, over how they handled abuse allegations prior to the National Safeguarding Team’s investigation.
“We are committed to a robust and wide-ranging review of the culture, leadership and governance of Soul Survivor Watford with external, independent support,” church trustees said. “We know that this is an essential step in building a strong, healthy and supportive environment for anyone who attends or visits our church.”
Main photo: Matt Redman / Photo via Facebook
