Christian Curriculum Giant ‘Orange’ Merges With New Org Following C-Suite Sex Scandal
Prominent Christian youth group curriculum provider Orange, who recently had to hire a third-party law firm to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct between its founder Reggie Joiner and CEO Kristen Ivey after they were caught having an affair, has announced that they are merging with the Amazing Life Foundation.
ALF, which is led by CEO Chris Heaslip and Presenide Malachi Boyolus, has a mission to “create Gospel-centered resources designed to meet people at every age and stage of life” and to “craft the tools that equip churches to disciple effectively and efficiently.” Some of their brands include Amazing Kids, Mission Studios, Tome Bible App, BSide App, and now Orange. They announced in a press release:
Amazing Life Foundation, home to several faith-inspired organizations, and Orange, the leading provider of Christian curriculums for family ministry, are coming together to strengthen the faith of the next generation.
This merger brings together Orange’s legacy of equipping churches and families with Amazing Life’s expertise in technology and operational support, along with a passion for gospel clarity for the next generation, enabling both organizations to serve churches more effectively.
..With the merger, Chris Heaslip, CEO of Amazing Life, will strengthen Orange’s resources, including its curriculum, Parent Cue, and flagship events such as the Orange Conference. Heaslip, the co-founder and former CEO of companies like Pushpay, LeadR, and Bside, brings a wealth of leadership experience in creating innovative technology solutions for churches.
Six months ago, Reggie Joiner, the founder of the Orange Conference, the largest family ministry conference in the world geared towards kids ministers, youth ministry, and “next-gen ministry leaders,” resigned from his role at Orange after confessing he’s been having an affair with another leader.
That other leader was CEO Kristen Ivy, the president and CEO of Orange, who has also resigned. While Ivy initially characterized the adulterous affair to the Orange board as an “inappropriate relationship,” an email from Ivy to board members Joel Manby walks back those claims, saying she was, in fact, a victim of clergy sexual misconduct that she could not meaningfully consent to, and as a result should not “shoulder the burden of responsibility.”
Ivy explained that during the original interview with the board after they first learned of her actions, she was “prepared to protect Reggie at all cost because I was laboring under years of the belief that protecting Reggie was the only way to protect Orange” and that I chose the words “inappropriate relationship” when characterizing what I believed needed to be disclosed. My intent at the time was to maintain a humble posture and shoulder the burden of responsibility.”
After seeking professional counsel and speaking to “experts in abuse,” she has come to realize that “I now realize I am experiencing a high level activated trauma – not just from the past weeks, but also compounded trauma from many years of emotional and psychological abuse.”
“Part of that realization has been to recognize that in my disclosure to Orange, I was still living within the mental frameworks I had been coerced to believe which led me to request an inappropriate level of responsibility for this situation.”
Ivy says that because of the power dynamics at play, including the 20-year age difference between them, Joiner’s refusal to accept her resignation, and the potential loss of income if she came forward, she was a victim in all this who could not give meaningful consent to their sexual activity:
I believe you were able to see – even before I was able to name it – that the nature of the relationship between Reggie and myself was not truly capable of having meaningful consent. What I said was true, that the relationship between Reggie and myself was inappropriate, but I am now aware that this is not the best framing for understanding the nature of what took place. The truth is that Reggie has repeatedly abused his power and used it to gain access to vulnerable, often very young women, slowly crossing boundaries, isolating them, and eventually coercing them into agreeing to the abuse.
The very nature of these relationships is to confuse a victim into believing what is happening is consensual, and it can take years of separation from the abuser for the victim to recognize the abuse. I have been separated from Reggie for less than a week, but I am aware that these patterns are abusive and not consensual.
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