Police now investigating alleged misconduct involving leader at Vineyard Church

An update from the Vineyard Church regarding allegations of misconduct. Earlier this week, we reported that a leader has been suspended during the investigation.

On Friday, an email to church members said that police are now involved.

Here’s a portion of the email:

“This is a fast evolving situation, particularly with regard to law enforcement involvement. The first reports that the Special Committee received were anonymous and, when we took those reports to the police, we were told by the police that they could not start an investigation without victims’ names. That changed this week when victims began identifying themselves on social media. So, we reported this matter to the police again this week and there is now an ongoing criminal investigation. In light of the police involvement and in recognition that things are changing so rapidly, we are canceling our All Church Meeting scheduled for Sunday, February 5th at 7pm. To the extent that we are able to provide updates in the future, we will post them to our website.”

The email goes on to say they encourage all reports of criminal activities to be reported to law enforcement. And a reminder that they have contracted with Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment for an independent investigation. If you have information that may be relevant to their investigation, please contact GRACE by emailing Emily Petrie at epetrie@netgrace.org.

“We want to say to all survivors of abuse that we hear you and believe you. It is never your fault. And, you are not alone. We are praying for you and we call our community to a time of prayer and lament. As Jesus was always on the side of the vulnerable and the wounded, in our response to abuse the safety and care of survivors must always come first.”

Another church leader has been placed on administrative leave.