Assemblies of God churches shielded accused predators — and allowed them to keep abusing children
This article is part of “Pastors and Prey,” a series investigating sex abuse allegations in the Assemblies of God. A children’s pastor was caught filming girls in a church bathroom in Arkansas. Elders suspended him for a few weeks. In Illinois, a preacher was accused of sexually abusing children. Church leaders sent him to therapy rather than call police. In California, a worship minister went to prison for molesting boys. His congregation threw him a party when he returned. All of these men remained in ministry in the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination. All went on to.