SOUTHLAKE (TX)
Dallas Observer [Dallas TX]
July 7, 2025
By Emma Ruby
The once mighty Gateway Church is cutting services amid a fall in tithes and attendance. How’d we get here?
It’s been a year since North Texas megachurch founder and pastor Robert Morris stepped down from his position amid claims that he had sexually abused a minor, and the Southlake-based ministry is still reeling from the scandal’s aftershocks.
Most recently, leaders at the Gateway Church, which is based out of Southlake but has campuses across North Texas, announced the end of Saturday services. Last month, the church revealed that a significant drop in tithes had led to financial struggles across the company.
In just one year, it seems the Christian ministry that once dominated North Texas’ most devout circles is near toppling. Here’s how we got to this point.
June 14, 2024
The Christian blog The Wartburg Watch publishes an interview with Cindy Clemshire, a 54-year-old Oklahoma woman. Clemshire details meeting Morris, then a 20-year-old traveling evangelist, in Tulsa when she was 11. Clemshire’s family befriended Morris, she told the Watch, but on the night of Christmas in 1982, Morris invited Clemshire to his bedroom, where she was molested. She details wearing “pink pajamas with bloomer pants” when the first instance of abuse occurred, and it continued over the next five years. By the time Clemshire confided in a mutual family friend about the abuse, Morris was a pastor at Shady Grove Church, which would eventually become Gateway Church’s Grand Prairie Campus. Clemshire says she did not fully understand what had happened to her until she was 35 years old and, watching Oprah, learned about grooming.
June 18, 2024
Just four days after the Watch published Clemshire’s account, Morris resigns from his position as head pastor. The church announces that the law firm Haynes Boone has been hired to conduct an independent investigation into the abuse that took place between 1982 and 1987. In a statement made by church elders, Gateway leaders claim to have had no knowledge of the abuse, saying that while Morris has discussed a previous extramarital affair in his ministry, leaders were under the impression the relationship was with “a young lady” and not a 12-year-old.
June 19, 2024
The Wartburg Watch publishes a statement by Clemshire, in which she expresses disappointment that Morris was allowed to resign from Gateway Church rather than be terminated. Clemshire disputes the claim that church elders did not know about the abuse, stating that in 2005, notices of the abuse were sent directly to Morris and former Gateway elder Tom Lane detailing Clemshire’s claims. She calls for a broader investigatory scope into Morris’ actions, and states her belief that she is “not the only victim.”
July 25, 2024
Gateway church leaders announce that James Morris, son of Robert Morris and heir apparent to the Gateway throne, has been asked to resign from his position. James was expected to succeed his father beginning in 2025.
Oct. 4, 2024
Four church members file a class action lawsuit against Gateway Church, alleging the body misappropriated millions of dollars in donations that members were led to believe went towards international ministry.
Nov. 2, 2024
Four elders knowledgeable about Morris’ conduct are removed from the church leadership. In an announcement made during a weekend service to the congregation, elder Tra Willbanks states that while some elders knew Morris had been accused of abuse of a 12-year-old, others knew sexual abuse allegations had been made against Morris but did not ask further questions and therefore did not know Clemshire’s age at the time the abuse began. The removals came after the law firm Haynes Boone reported their investigation’s findings to church leadership. Willbanks further announces the church is cooperating with a criminal investigation into the abuse claims and states Morris has made financial demands of the church that the body will not comply with.
Nov. 13, 2024
In a video message to church members, elder Kenneth Fambro announces that ministry changes and staff reductions are being evaluated in light of a “35 to 40%” drop in tithing. News reports suggest roughly one-quarter of church members have stopped attending Gateway since the Clemshire allegations were made public.
Jan. 28, 2025
Gateway leaders announce four new elders have been hired to replace the leaders dismissed months earlier. The men are introduced as “interim” leaders serving on a six-month trial period whose appointments will be made permanent if “it’s a good fit for both parties.”
March 12, 2025
Morris is indicted on five counts of “lewd or indecent acts with a child stemming from incidents that date back to the 1980s” in Oklahoma. A statement by Gateway Church says leaders are aware of the legal action and are “grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions.” The Oklahoma attorney general claims the statute of limitations in child sex cases does not apply to Morris because he is not and was never a resident of Oklahoma.
March 19, 2025
Clemshire testifies before the Texas House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence in favor of a bill named “Trey’s Law,” which would outlaw the use of nondisclosure agreements in cases of child sex abuse. She tells legislators that Morris offered her an NDA when she first came forward about the abuse and that because she refused to sign the document, Morris is “finally being held accountable for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child.” Trey’s Law eventually passes both the House and Senate and is signed into law.
May 9, 2025
Morris and Clemshire appear before a judge in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. The judge sets a follow-up court date of Sept. 4.
May 13, 2025
Morris files a lawsuit against Gateway Church demanding millions of dollars in payments and retirement funds. The filing reveals that Morris has been attempting to secure payments from the church for months. It states that, in addition to the $1 million Morris had in a retirement fund, elders had verbally promised payments of $800,000 a year until the founder turned 70, followed by $600,000 annual payments as long as Morris or his wife are living. A letter from Morris’ attorney states that if the church does not comply with the payments, “Pastor Robert will be forced to make clear that he was transparent with the board about his sexual encounters” with Clemshire.
June 18, 2025
As a decline in tithing continues, church leaders announce staff layoffs. A statement claims that while church attendance has improved, funding pledges have not, requiring a “restructuring” and “reduction” of staff. The layoffs are anticipated to be completed in mid-July, and the number of employees impacted is not given.
June 15, 2025
Leaders at New Life Church in Colorado Springs announced the resignation of Senior Pastor Brady Boyd, who had previously worked with Morris and denied knowing of Clemshire’s age. A report by church elders found Boyd “was party to at least 20 emails” relating to the abuse of Clemshire. Two other elders are also asked to resign after investigators realize Clemshire’s sister had warned the New Life hiring committee against Boyd’s appointment.
July 2, 2025
An email sent to congregants announces that eight of the nine Gateway campuses will stop holding Saturday services beginning the weekend of July 26.
Emma Ruby is a staff writer at the Dallas Observer where she covers local news. Before joining the Observer in April 2024, Emma was the editor of the Oak Cliff Advocate. She was the news editor of Loyola University’s student newspaper, The Maroon, and interned with the Dallas Morning News and WVUE-TV in New Orleans while in college. Emma also worked as a media coordinator for Tulane University Athletics, and interviewed Coach K after Duke’s 2022 Final Four loss.