Gateway Church has appointed Pastor Daniel Floyd as its new leader following a child sex abuse scandal involving founder and former senior pastor Robert Morris.
Floyd was officially installed on Sunday at the church’s Southlake, Texas, campus, where elders prayed over him before a congregation of about 4,000.
“Today, with full joy and confidence, we appoint Pastor Daniel as a new lead pastor of Gateway Church, and we commission Pastor Tammie and their family into this new chapter of leadership,” said lead elder Tra Wilbanks.
In his first sermon, titled 'Our Commitment to You', Floyd acknowledged the weight of the moment and vowed to lead with integrity.
“It’s a day where we turn the page, and we begin to write a new story, but it’s also not the day we erase previous chapters,” he said.
Floyd and his wife, Tammie, founded Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia, more than 20 years ago. They joined Gateway in May 2025 as the church grappled with the fallout from the Morris case.
Morris resigned in 2024 after a woman alleged he sexually abused her when she was 12 years old in the 1980s.
In May 2025, an Oklahoma grand jury indicted him on five counts of child sexual abuse. Prosecutors allege the abuse began in 1982, when Morris was a traveling evangelist staying with the girl’s family in Hominy, Oklahoma, and continued for four years. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in September.
Since stepping down, Morris has also pursued a multimillion-dollar retirement package he claims was promised to him.
According to court filings, his attorney demanded more than $1 million from his retirement account, along with an alleged verbal promise of $800,000 annually until age 70, followed by $600,000 a year for life for both him and his wife. Gateway’s attorneys dispute the claims, writing that “amid the chaos his conduct had unleashed upon Gateway and his community, Morris was laser-focused on securing his financial future.”
The church has also faced financial strain. In July 2025, Gateway announced it would shutter Saturday services at most campuses due to declining attendance and giving since Morris’s resignation.
