Southlake-based Gateway Church said Wednesday it's making more staffing cuts — one year after now-disgraced founding pastor Robert Morris stepped down from his role.
In an email to congregants Wednesday, the church said it comes amid a "significant drop" in church donations following the "ongoing issues" against Morris.
"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," church elder Tra Willbanks said in a statement.
The church did not specify how much attendance and tithes have dropped in recent months or when its expected to make the staff cuts.
Morris stepped down from the megachurch after an Oklahoma woman publicly accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a child. The allegations were among the first in a wave of church scandals that swept across North Texas — and kicked off a year of change at Gateway.
Cindy Clemishire's allegations came as a shock to the church community and beyond. Gateway is one of the largest megachurches in the nation and at that time, included more than 100,000 active members across multiple states.
Since Clemishire came forward, Gateway’s been hit with multiple unrelated lawsuits, a significant drop in attendance and church donations, and a dwindling number of church elders.
Here’s everything that’s happened at the megachurch over the past year.
June 14, 2024: Cindy Clemishire publicly shares her story online
Morris’ allegations came to light when Clemishire told the religious blog The Wartburg Watch that Morris abused her when she was 12 years old in 1982.
Clemishire said the alleged abuse happened when she lived in Oklahoma. According to Clemshire, Morris was close friends with her family and stayed at their home for Christmas. While in a car together, Clemishire said Morris asked her to visit him in his room later that night.
Clemishire said Morris told her to lie down and close her eyes before he molested her. Before returning to her room, Clemishire said Morris warned her: “Never tell anyone about this because it will ruin everything.”
She told The Wartburg Watch the abuse continued until March 1987.
June 18, 2024: Robert Morris resigns from Gateway Church
Morris, 63, resigned after admitting to “sexual inappropriate behavior with a young lady” in a statement to The Christian Post.
“When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years,” Morris told the news outlet.
Church elders at the time said they “did not have all the facts of the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of the abuse."
Gateway then retained law firm Haynes & Boone LLP to conduct an internal investigation into the claims.
July 25, 2024: Robert Morris’ son, daughter-in-law step down from Gateway Church leadership
James Morris served as the church’s associate senior pastor and his wife, Bridgette Morris, served as executive pastor. James would have been Robert Morris’ successor following his resignation in June.
But when the sexual abuse allegations became public, the church asked James and Bridgette Morris and three other elders to take a temporary leave of absence as Gateway conducted its internal probe. Church elders announced the two had stepped down shortly after.
“We as Elders affirm and believe that God has placed a desire in both Pastors James and Bridgette’s hearts to serve as senior pastors of a church at some point in the future,” Gateway’s board of elders said.
Aug. 14, 2024: Gateway Church cancels annual conference in wake of allegations against founding pastor
In the wake of those allegations, church leaders canceled Gateway’s annual three-day conference.
“We are deeply sorry for the pain this situation caused the survivor, other survivors of abuse, and the Church at large,” the church’s statement at the time read. “As we seek to navigate this season in a healthy way and in a manner that promotes healing for everyone affected, we believe it best to not hold Gateway Conference this year.”
Gateway Conference usually drew in thousands of pastors and leaders to its main campus in Southlake and included speakers like Morris’ son, James Morris.
Aug. 14, 2024: Gateway Church sued for allegedly turning a blind eye to child sexual assault in 2016
A woman filed a lawsuit claiming she was sexually assaulted as a teen in the Gateway Church while pastors and counselors failed to prevent the alleged abuse.
The woman said the church did nothing to prevent the series of assaults over the span of three months despite multiple surveillance cameras in the area in which the abuse occurred. The suit also says there may be other girls who were assaulted by the same person.
According to the suit, the woman was 13 years old when she was groomed and sexually assaulted by a high school senior in 2016.
The youth group was geared toward children ranging in age from 11 to 18 years old with at least 200 children at the nighttime youth group meetings with little or no supervision, according to the suit.
Aug 21, 2024: Gateway Church removes lead pastor over ‘moral issue’
Kemtal Glasgow, who served as an executive pastor at the Southlake campus, was fired after a “moral issue.” It’s unclear what exactly happened, and the church didn’t offer any other details.
“We were informed last week of a moral issue which we believe as elders disqualify him from serving in the role he had at Gateway,” church elder Tra Willbanks said at the time.
Oct. 4, 2024: Gateway Church, Robert Morris sued for allegedly committing financial fraud with congregants’ tithes
A class-action lawsuit filed by church members claimed Gateway committed financial fraud by falsely promising members that a portion of their tithes would go toward foreign missionary work.
Former lead pastor Robert Morris told congregants 15%, or around $15 million of its $100 million annual church revenue, would go to global ministries, according to the suit.
However, a church member and public accountant for Gateway alleged only $3 million of annual revenue was given to global missions and ministries — and it’s unclear where the rest of the tithes went.
The suit demanded the church refund donations previously mishandled.
Nov. 2, 2024: Gateway announces firing of elders, employees who allegedly knew of Robert Morris’ sexual abuse claims
Head church elder Tra Willbanks took to the pulpit to announce Gateway had completed its four-month probe into Morris’ alleged sexual abuse claims in early November.
They collected 780 gigabytes of data, reviewed thousands of pages of documents and emails and interviewed over two dozen individuals, Willbanks said. Morris was one of six people who refused a request for an in-person interview.
The law firm’s investigation found multiple church leaders and staff knew about the abuse claims for years and failed to investigate them further, according to Willbanks.
It’s not clear how many church leaders knew about the alleged abuse, but four elders were removed from the church’s website.
A criminal investigation against Morris was opened soon after the law firm’s findings.
Nov. 12, 2024: Southlake’s Gateway Church cuts staff following a drop in donations
Gateway announced it would be making staff cuts as the megachurch saw a significant decline in donations after the class-action lawsuit filed in October.
In a social media video, church elder Kenneth Fambro said tithes were down between 35% and 40%.
Fambro said the church tried to approach staff cuts differently, because similar cuts were “not handled well in the past.” Departments affected by the cuts received severance packages.
“We really are trying to look at leadership differently and express leadership differently in doing so,” Fambro said in a social media video. “My heart goes out to everyone whose processing this right now.”
Nov. 28, 2024: Gateway Church announces its main campus is down to 3 church elders
At least nine church elders and leaders had stepped down or were fired since summer of 2024, leaving Gateway with just three church elders.
Gateway said it was searching for more church elders and hoped to add them by February of 2025, elder Kenneth Fambro said in a video reposted by church watchdog blog WatchKeep.
“We currently only have three elders and desperately need help,” Fambro said.
At this point, Gateway’s attendance at its Southlake campus had seen a stark 40% decrease and dropped by nearly a quarter across all seven campuses, a spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News in October.
Mar. 12, 2025: Robert Morris indicted on multiple child sexual abuse charges
Morris was officially indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child in Osage County, where the alleged abuse took place, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced in a press release.
There is no statute of limitations in Morris' case because he was not a resident of Oklahoma at any time, Drummond said.
In an email to KERA News, Gateway said the church is aware of the indictments Morris is facing.
“We are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions,” the statement read. “We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation.”
Mar. 17, 2025 Robert Morris surrenders in Oklahoma on child sexual abuse charges
Morris turned himself in to Osage County, where court records showed a judge set a $50,000 bond and ordered Morris to surrender his passport.
Morris was in jail for about 14 minutes before being released on bond. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to jail records.
May 9, 2025: Robert Morris makes first court appearance in Oklahoma
Morris’ pre-preliminary hearing in May gave him the chance to meet with his defense attorney, prosecutor, and judge before the formal preliminary hearing.
His attorneys can try and work out a plea deal, but if one isn't offered or Morris chooses not to accept a plea offer, he’ll be scheduled for a preliminary hearing. Court records show his next court date is set for Sept. 4.
If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each charge.
May 13, 2025: Gateway Church sues Robert Morris over retirement pay
Gateway Church filed a civil suit against Morris after refusing his request asking for millions of dollars as part of his retirement, according to court filings.
Gateway claims Morris asked for $1 million upfront, then $800,000 a year until he turns 70, followed by $600,000 a year for the rest of his and his wife’s lives after he stepped down. But the church has refused to pay because of the sexual abuse claims.
The church accused Morris of being “laser focused” on securing his retirement payout. Morris’ lawyers met with Gateway less than two months after resigning to request “financial commitments” from the church, and they sent a letter demanding his payment the month after, according to court records.
Morris' attorneys argued the church forced him out of his position and claimed the church lied about how much they knew about the extent of the alleged abuse. They claim church elders knew for nearly two decades before Clemishire went public.
May 25, 2025: Gateway Church announces its new senior pastor
Church elder Tra Willbanks announced during a Sunday service last month that Daniel Floyd will step in as the church’s new senior pastor later this year.
“This search has been extensive, and we prioritized taking the time necessary to ensure that we find the best leader to take Gateway Church into an exciting new future,” Willbanks said. “It was important that we get this right, not get it fast.”
Floyd and his wife, Tammie, founded Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 2005. The megachurch now has five locations in the state and church plants in Kentucky, Arizona and Germany, according to its website.
June 12, 2025: Cindy Clemishire sues Gateway Church, Robert Morris for defamation
The lawsuit pointed to Morris' previous statement acknowledging the abuse claims, where he referred to Clemishire as a “young lady.”
The suit claims Morris, his wife, Gateway and its elders all benefited financially from hiding any known information about the sexual abuse claims from Clemishire. It also accuses them of acting with “actual malice.”
The suit accuses them of defamation, libel, slander, failure to report, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment.
