Village Church Responds to Blowback From Hiring Matt Chandler’s Dad As Custodian, Who Previously Confessed to Child Sex Abuse

The Village Church, led by pastor Matt Chandler, has responded to rumblings over revelations that they employed Steve Chandler, Matt’s father, to be their custodian, even though he admitted to engaging in child sex abuse decades earlier.

In an episode of The Bodies Behind The Bus podcast, former member and lay elder Chris and children’s ministry worker Anna shared that in 2019, during the growing storm of sexual abuse within the SBC, they learned that Steve Chandler, who was hired in 2007 and worked until 2012 as the church’s custodian, had confessed to molesting a child four decades ago.

For more on Chandler and The Village Church:
Matt Chandler Joins Christine Caine, Sadie Robertson Huff for ‘Preaching’ Conference
Matt Chandler Compares BLM Leaders to Prophets- Says Not Participating in BLM Marches is ‘Giving up our Inheritance’
Matt Chandler: ‘You are Complicit in the Unrest and Destruction of our Nation’
Major Acts 29 Church Resigns from Network, Citing ‘Poor Decision-Making,’ Leftward, Theological Drift’
‘Leaky Complementarian’ Matt Chandler Participates in Conference with a Bunch of Pastrixes
Prominent Friend of Matt Chandler Says Situation is Overblown, Explains Nature of the ‘Coarse Jesting’ + Reveals Reaction From Woman He Was DMing
Matt Chandler and Mark Driscoll Back Together for Christian Conference

According to Chris, he was told that Steve “confessed in California, had intensive court-ordered therapy, and he had gone through steps in recovery” and that “it was at one of those recovery meetings that he confessed that he had been a perpetrator of sexual abuse.”

With sex abuse reform the topic de jour, The Village Church leadership met together with lawyers in tow to hash out how and even IF they were going to reveal their past employment of Steven. That year, in 2019, they initially decided to release a statement insisting that Steve was reformed and that safety protocols had been established around him during his time there, ensuring he was always being monitored in some manner.

However, ultimately, they let the incident drop and did not mention it further, which Chris attributes to a sense of pressure he felt to leave it be.

In a statement sent to Church Leaders, The Village Church said it “cares deeply about protecting children and the most vulnerable among us” and has “made it one of our top priorities not only to provide for the spiritual care of our members and guests but also to provide for the safety of those attending our gatherings.”

Noting that they have utilized “best practices, background checks, regular training, and various security protocols that are informed and shaped through ongoing work with external experts,” The Village Church insists they will “invest resources in our growing care ministry to provide Christ-centered transformation, hope, and support” while remaining “committed to serving as a refuge for the broken and suffering to receive the hope of the gospel.”

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us

Save

About Author

Staff Writer

See author's posts