Bethel Church in Northern California recently paused its private Facebook group for alumni after facing backlash for allegedly covering up instances of sexual abuse and protecting fraudulent prophets. However, the administrators appear to have reopened the group as of Friday.
On his podcast titled, Faith Reframed, Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM) alumnus Jesse Westwood told his listeners that his phone “started blowing up” after administrators allegedly shut down access to the Facebook group with over 5,000 members.
“The problem here is that Bethel is controlling the narrative,” Westwood said. “They don’t want other victims to talk to each other. They don’t want to have an open forum where people can talk about their hurt or what happened to them and highlight failures in leadership.”
Over the last few months, Bethel has faced increased scrutiny sparked by Bible teacher and podcaster Mike Winger, who has shed light on alleged victims and former Bethel staff who claimed that the church knew years ago that "Prophetic Minister" Shawn Bolz faked prophecy and sexually harassed staff while leaders remained silent.
Recently, Bethel Church leaders released a statement following a nearly six-hour video Winger released on Jan. 17, which put the church under renewed scrutiny for its handling of Bolz, as Premier Christian News previously reported.
“We are clear that we are not responsible for Shawn’s sin; he is. But we are equally clear that we are responsible for our sins, actions, and inactions after the fact,” Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, and Dann Farrelly wrote in a joint statement. “James 4:17 states, ‘So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.’”
In addition, last month a pastor at Bethel Church was placed on leave after allegations of sexual assault surfaced in a YouTube video.
In a Feb. 15 statement, leaders at Bethel said they had become aware of a video “containing serious allegations of clergy sexual abuse" against pastor Ben Armstrong, dating back to 2009.
Premier has reached out to Bethel Church for comment on the situation.