The leadership team at Bethel Church in Redding, CA are breaking their silence after an in-depth investigation exposed that minister Shawn Bolz stands accused of fraudulent prophecies and sexual misconduct while connected with the charismatic church.
In an online statement, Bethel’s Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, Dann Farrelly, and Danny Silk owned up to “mistakes and failures” when handling allegations of sexual harassment brought to them by one of Bolz’s former team members and “evidence that Shawn was using social media to get information for false words of knowledge.”
“We take responsibility for the fact that we did not properly and fully bring discipline, closure, or clear and timely communication regarding the gravity of our concerns with Shawn Bolz. This was someone we platformed to preach and prophesy in our house and with our teams on many occasions up until 2019,” the leaders wrote.
“The truth is, we have hurt and scared people because we did not tell the truth enough, early enough, long enough, or loud enough, and this is a just criticism. Our hearts are grieved, and embarrassed. When we sin or mess up publicly as we have, it’s important to take responsibility publicly, to listen as people share their frustration, sadness, fears, and corrections,” it continued.
The statement comes days after Christian apologist Mike Winger posted a nearly 6-hour video titled, “The Skeletons in Bethel’s Closet are Now Going to Speak.” In it, he details evidence that points to repeated unethical prophetic practices such as accessing publicly available personal information and presenting it as divine information as well as sexual misconduct that spans decades.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you receive the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.**
“He can tell you without ever meeting you your birthday, your street address, how many kids you have, the name of your pet, where your mom lives, and other private information. He’ll tell you about things that you’ve done recently or hopes that you have in your heart. And and he says it’s all coming from God,” Winger said of Bolz’s notoriety, adding, it was “ultimately a gimmick.”
Winger exposed that Bethel leadership was aware of the accusations against Bolz and said “Bill Johnson has responsibility for Shawn Bolz” and claims that some of Johnson’s public endorsements of Bolz were an “atrocious and evil” act.
“They set him up as prophet to the world,” Winger said in his video.
He also pointed to leaked text messages revealing Vallotton privately distanced Bolz from Bethel Ministries in 2020, but took no further action. In the open letter, Vallotton acknowledged those missteps and apologized.
“…here is the challenge and my mistake: I did not realize until just a few days ago that my approach was merely that of helping a friend…,” he explained. “We did not feel taking things further was our responsibility, and felt that we had done what we could. However, this was a major mistake. We should have told our church and wider community in 2020. We did not. That was wrong.”
Vallotton also admitted that when these accusations were first released on Winger’s January 17th video, he did not handle it correctly.
“Adversity introduces a man to himself, and I did not like what I saw in myself by Monday morning. I thank those who pushed back,” he said in his statement. “On Sunday night, I was externally processing and shared a one-sided message that lacked compassion and awareness, and incorporated Scripture in a way that was incomplete and inaccurate.”
Vallotton continued, “As a result of my conviction from the Lord and challenge from others, I came to realize the truth: Shawn’s sin isn’t our fault, but protecting people from those we platform is definitely our responsibility.”
RELATED:
At the end of the statement, Bethel’s leadership said it no longer endorses Bolz or his ministry. They strongly advised others to take the same position.
The leadership team said they are also implementing “a confrontation model” that will allow them to hold Bethel to wider accountability measures, including a Safe Church reporting system. They invited those who were affected by Bolz’s prophetic words or misconduct to come forward.
Johnson acknowledged that his reluctance to confront Bolz about the allegations hurt many.
“I showed mercy in one area and not the other,” Johnson said in his statement. “And that seriously affected those who should not have been traumatized any more than they were.”
“It was incredibly careless. I realize now that I contributed to their trauma, and I am deeply grieved by this and am sorry. Sometimes it is your action, and sometimes, your lack of action, that causes harm, and I know that I failed,” he continued.
CBN News has reached out to Bolz for comment and has not received a response. His website indicates he is taking a “sabbatical.”
