Dallas-based Gateway Church announced to staff this week that donations have dropped 35%-40% and staff reductions are imminent. The announcement comes five months after the resignation of founding pastor Robert Morris due to an allegation of child sex abuse.

Morris, who founded the multi-site megachurch in 2000, resigned in June, after Cindy Clemishire accused him of sexually abusing her for years, beginning when she was 12 years old.

On Wednesday, church leaders sent an all-staff video update via the social platform Slack, which The Roys Report (TRR) obtained. Gateway elder Kenneth Fambro spoke in the video and referred vaguely to recent church “difficulty,” saying he wanted to give “an update on where we are, from a financial standpoint.” 

“We have, in fact, seen our tithes reduce between 35% and 40%,” said Fambro. “As a result, we really need to go and start looking at the ministry itself and looking into some staff reductions.”

TRR reached out to Gateway for further clarification, but a representative declined to comment. 

Fambro added that Gateway employees who are fired will be given one month of severance pay for every year served on church staff, up to four months. 

“I know that this is a very difficult thing,” said Fambro. “We want to come alongside you and really help you through this transition and through this process.”

Investigation finds former Gateway elders complicit 

At the beginning of the video, Fambro identifies himself as “one of three remaining elders.”

On Nov. 3, Gateway elder Tra Willbanks announced that the church had removed four elders as part of an investigation into allegations against Morris, which was conducted by law firm Haynes & Boone. 

The church found these elders had full or partial knowledge of the allegations against Morris but failed to act or investigate. Three of the four men removed from the elder board had also been employed as pastors. 

Weeks ago, Willbanks also stated that the church board will no longer include staff members, except the church’s future senior pastor and “potentially an executive pastor. But both of them would serve in a non-voting capacity,” he said.  

This change to ensure the board’s independence corresponds with Gateway’s previously announced plans to join the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

The ECFA requires that its members have boards composed of a majority of independent members, who are not on staff or related to other board members or staff.

Lawsuit claims church misspent tithe money

The elder’s announcement comes as several current and former church members are suing the church for alleged financial fraud, as previously reported by TRR. 

Morris and other church leaders told members that Gateway gave 15% of its revenues to global missions but gave no more than 3% some years, the lawsuit claims. 

Gateway has denied the allegations and provided only partial responses to detailed questions from TRR about the church’s finances. 

Concluding his recent video remarks, elder Fambro told staff, “My heart goes out to everyone who’s processing this right now.” 

“But know that we want what God wants. We want you to be exactly where God wants you, whether that’s in your career or whether you attend the church. Like, we want the best for you.” 

This article originally appeared at The Roys Report.

Josh Shepherd writes on faith, culture, and public policy for several media outlets. He and his family live in the Washington, D.C. area.