Gateway Church announces staff layoffs amid "challenges" with its former pastor Robert Morris, tithing
In a letter to the congregation, Gateway elders said tithing "has not mirrored attendance," and due to the issues with its former lead pastor and church founder, Robert Morris, there has been a "significant drop in giving levels."
The letter assured members that despite the challenges, the church maintains strong financial and accounting records. But after church leadership evaluated the situation, they determined "restructuring of our staff is necessary, requiring the tough but necessary step of staff reduction."
"This was an extremely difficult decision for us to make, and we didn't come to it quickly or easily, and waited as long as we could. This decision was an important step to ensure we are able to minister to our church family well; however, it affects real people and members of our church family that we've loved and served alongside for years, which is what makes it so painful. And we are trying to love our staff well through this painful process," Tra Willbanks, a church elder, said in a separate statement Wednesday.
Legal battle between Gateway and Morris
Legal documents filed in May revealed that 63-year-old Morris is demanding millions of dollars in payment and retirement benefits from the church following his 2024 resignation. He stepped away after allegations resurfaced that he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl, identified as Cindy Clemishire, in the 1980s.
Church lawyers wrote in the court filing that "amid the chaos of his conduct had unleashed upon Gateway and his community, Morris was laser-focused on securing his financial future."
In September 2024, Morris' attorney sent a letter to Gateway that included a demand of more than $1 million that had accrued in Morris's retirement account, and claimed that the elders verbally promised him a retirement benefit of $800,000 per year until he turned 70.
However, according to a retirement compensation agreement included in the court filing, the church would pay Morris $170,000 per year for 20 years.
Sexual abuse allegations against Morris
In March 2025, Oklahoma prosecutors charged Morris with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child stemming from the allegations made by the victim, Clemishire. Morris has since pleaded not guilty.
Clemishire claims Morris abused her from the age of 12 to 17. Morris was a traveling evangelist in his 20s and had become close to Clemishire's family.
When the story broke, Gateway church elders said Morris disclosed to them he'd had an extramarital affair, but not that he had allegedly abused a young girl. Morris and the church had also said that Morris underwent "a two-year restoration process" that included him "stepping out of the ministry during that period."
On June 12, Clemishire and her father filed a lawsuit against Morris, his wife and several current and former Gateway leaders, alleging that they knew about Morris' deceit.
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