SOUTHLAKE (TX)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
October 4, 2024
By Julie Roys
A group of members of Dallas-based Gateway Church have filed a proposed class action lawsuit, alleging that the church fraudulently claimed it was giving 15% of members’ tithe to global missions, but did not.
According to the suit, Gateway should have been giving away a minimum of $15 million a year to global missions, since the church had annual revenue around $100 million.
However, the suit claims Gateway hired a “seasoned CPA” to oversee its global ministries in July 2011. And during his tenure, which ended in 2014, “he never observed the Global Ministries fund give away more than $3 million in any year,” the suit states.
Following initial publication of this article, Gateway Church spokesperson Lawrence Swicegood provided a statement.
“We do not comment on pending litigation,” Swicegood told The Roys Report (TRR). “These are serious allegations. Some of these concerns were brought to us recently, and we are actively investigating them. Funds donated to our church are sacred, and it is important that we hold ourselves to the highest biblical standards of ethics and integrity.”
The lawsuit was filed today in federal court in Sherman, Texas, on behalf of four Gateway members and others “similarly situated.”
According to Attorney Lu Pham, who’s representing the plaintiffs, the suit is seeking class certification. If granted, the lawsuit will seek $100 million in damages.
Named as defendants in the suit are Gateway Church, former Gateway Senior Pastor Robert Morris, former Gateway Executive Senior Pastor Thomas Lane, Executive Global Pastor Kevin Grove, and former Executive Pastor and Founding Elder Steve Dulin.
The suit comes as Gateway has been embroiled in controversy, following allegations that its founding Pastor Robert Morris sexually molested an Oklahoma woman in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12 years old.
Morris resigned soon after the allegations surfaced. And his son, James Morris, who was slated to take over the church, also resigned and is starting a new church.
Gateway accused of reneging on its promise
According to the suit, Morris and other Gateway leaders promised members that 15% of their tithe dollars would be distributed to global missions and Jewish ministry partners.
This claim was documented in the Members’ Handbook given to new members, the suit says. Plus, the church’s website currently claims, “The first 15% of Gateway’s tithe is set aside to support local, national, and international outreach efforts.”
Additionally, Morris stated in 2023 that 10 years ago, Gateway passed giving “$20 million a year . . . but now it’s over $25 million,” the suit said.
However, the suit claims Gateway regularly failed to make good on its promise, citing an unnamed CPA who used to administrate the global fund.
According to the lawsuit, the unspent balance in the global fund was $20 million in 2013 and was growing by approximately $10 million per year.
“In spite of that, Robert Morris and other leaders at Gateway misled the congregation during Global Impact Weekend each year by stating that the full amount was being given to missions when, in fact, it was not,” the suit states.
Suit alleges church covered up financial discrepancies
The suit also claims that a member of Gateway’s global staff noticed that “several entries, amounting to $1 million, were unaccounted for.”
When the CPA asked former Gateway CFO Randy Bell about the issue, “Bell stated he did not know what the entries represented but that they were ‘elder approved,’” the lawsuit states.
The CPA asked which elder approved the entries and Bell allegedly said he did not know, “stating instead that it came from Kevin Grove,” a current Gateway elder and executive global pastor.
When the CPA asked Grove about the reconciliation errors, Grove became “visibly enraged and, with a raised voice, instructed the CPA to ‘quit reconciling the accounts,’” the suit states. It adds, “Around this time period, the CPA began to find similar unexplained entries.”
The CPA took his concerns to former Executive Senior Pastor Tom Lane, telling Lane that if his concerns were not addressed, he’d resign, the suit states.
Lane told the CPA he would take his concerns to Robert Morris, the suit says.
“A few days later, Tom Lane told the CPA, ‘I spoke to Robert over the weekend, and we agreed to accept your resignation,’” according to the suit.
Lack of transparency?
The plaintiffs named in the lawsuit—Katherine and Garry Leach, and Mark and Terri Browder—claim they went to church leaders due to the sexual assault allegations against Morris disclosed this summer.
They say they were seeking answers about the use of tithe money, but “Gateway refused to be transparent when trying to answer even simple questions about the use of tithing dollars.
“Defendants’ refusal to answer even the most basic of questions is the reason for this lawsuit,” the suit states. It adds that the plaintiffs “seek transparency and an explanation (of) what happened to the 15% of funds collected that Robert Morris, Tom Lane, and the other name Defendants promised would be used for global missions.”
The suit also noted that Morris “promised on multiple occasions that if the congregation is not happy with the use of its money, it can get the money back.”
As reported by TRR, one of the defendants, Katherine Leach, asked Gateway Church to return her tithe money. According to the suit, Gateway church has not responded.
Leach also has posted videos on her Facebook page of Morris offering his “Money Back Guarantee.”
“Many people have requested refund of their tithes only to be stonewalled and ignored by the Defendants,” the lawsuits states.
According to Attorney Lu Pham, the lawsuit is “not about money” but about transparency and accountability.
“If Gateway would just open up the books and show us that the money was used for the purposes it was intended for, this lawsuit would go away very quickly,” Pham said.
He added that if his clients prevail, they plan to give the money to the ministries that should have received the money long ago.
One of the plaintiffs, Mark Browder, told TRR, “We are filing this suit as a last resort due to the complete lack of transparency across many levels by Gateway leadership.”
Similarly, Katherine Leach told TRR, “I realize from the surface this looks horrible if you don’t know the backstory and motivation behind it. I mean who asks for their tithe money back? Then again, what Pastor does an infomercial with God’s money?”
Leach noted several concerns about Gateway, which led her to file the suit. These include what she termed Gateway’s “complete lack of compassion” towards Morris’ alleged victim and “the inner workings of Gateway Church: bullying, unwanted sexual advances, abuse, people being silenced with NDAs, as well as their ongoing refusal to provide their bylaws and financial records.”
“Due to their lack of integrity in these very significant areas, I do not feel confident Gateway Church handled my tithe above reproach,” she said. Leach added that she filed the suit with a “very heavy heart and as an absolute last resort.”
*TRR has spoken exclusively with the CPA named in this lawsuit and will be releasing his story next week. We are holding the piece to give Gateway more time to respond.
Lawsuit filed Oct. 4, 2024 – Former members v. Gateway Church, Morris, elder board, et. al.
(Please see original article for lawsuit)
Update 10/5: This article has been updated to include a statement from Gateway Church.