Gateway Church founder and senior pastor Robert Morris has resigned amid sexual abuse allegations

The Gateway Church board of elders says it accepted Morris' resignation Tuesday and retained a law firm to investigate the allegations.

SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Gateway Church founder and senior pastor Robert Morris resigned Tuesday amid allegations he sexually abused a woman in the ‘80s, starting when she was 12 years old.

The Gateway Church Board of Elders said they accepted Morris’ resignation Tuesday and hired the law firm Haynes and Boone to investigate the allegations.

Cindy Clemishire, the accuser, told WFAA the abuse continued until 1987 when she told a friend what had happened.

After the allegations were made public, on Sunday, Morris admitted he was "involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady," though he did not make reference to the girl's age.

“Regretfully, prior to Friday, June 14, the elders did not have all the facts of the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of the abuse,” the Gateway Church board of elders said in a statement Tuesday. “The elders’ prior understanding was that Morris’ extramarital relationship, which he had discussed many times throughout his ministry, was with a ‘young lady’ and not abuse of a 12-year-old child. Even though it occurred many years before Gateway was established, as leaders of the church, we regret we did not have the information that we now have.”

The board said in the statement they’re “heartbroken and appalled by what has come to light over the past few days, and we express our deep sympathy to the victim and her family.”

Clemishire told WFAA she'd told her story for years and tried to sue Morris in 2005, but her actions did not generate much attention.

The allegations came to light after Clemshire posted her account Friday on The Wartburg Watch, a blog that calls attention to instances of alleged sexual abuse in the church on the advice of a pastor.

Morris founded Gateway Church with his wife in 2000 and currently has more than 100,000 active attendees. Morris also has a TV program that airs in 190 countries, and a radio program called Worship & the Word with Pastor Robert, that airs in more than 6,800 cities. On YouTube, his sermons and videos have gained 7.1 million views.

He also serves as chancellor of The King’s University in Southlake.

It’s not immediately clear what his resignation from Gateway means for the future of his TV and radio program or his role with the university.

Morris had already announced plans to turn over church leadership to his son, James Morris, in spring 2025 prior to the allegations being made public. The board of elders didn't address who will take over from Morris in their statement.

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