Hillsong Church, one of the most influential Pentecostal church networks in the world, lost two more pastors Monday as the leaders of Hillsong Boston announced their departure, media reports indicate.
Josh and Leona Kimes have “made the difficult decision to resign,” Religion News Service reported, citing an Instagram post from an account that is now marked “private” on the social media site.
“It was never our plan to ever leave Hillsong Church. It’s been home for 22yrs of my life. It’s where I’ve pastored for the last 16yrs,” RNS quoted Mr. Kimes as saying.
The news agency said the pastor offered an apology for his role in “perpetuating a culture that at times valued the building of the church at the expense of those building it.”
The Kimeses were formerly associated with Hillsong’s New York City congregation.
New York pastor Carl Lentz, noted for his association with celebrities such as singer Justin Bieber, supervised the couple, with Josh working as an associate pastor and Leona as a nanny for the Lentz family.
Mr. Lentz was fired from Hillsong New York in November 2020 when details of an adulterous affair surfaced.
A subsequent internal investigation leaked to The Christian Post website revealed that the New York pastor had sexually abused Mrs. Kimes, who detailed some of these issues in a post on Medium.com.
“During the years I spent serving them, I was subjected to manipulation, control, bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse,” Mrs. Kimes wrote of the Lentz household.
“While he never had intercourse with me and never kissed me, I was physically violated by his unwanted and repeated sexual touching of my intimate areas. I froze. Every time, I froze,” she added.
The Christian Post reported Mr. Lentz had, “through a legal representative,” denied Mrs. Kimes’ accusations when she published her blog post.
Hillsong, noted for Christian music megahits such as “Shout to the Lord” and “Oceans,” has been a major force in Pentecostalism for several decades.
Founded in 1983, Hillsong was affiliated with the Australian wing of the Assemblies of God, a denomination based in Springfield, Missouri. Hillsong left the Australian Christian Churches group in 2018.
Hillsong co-founder Brian Houston resigned from his “global pastor” position in late March after allegations of “inappropriate contact” with two female church members. Both were attributed to substance abuse, church leaders said at the time.
Mr. Houston also faces criminal charges in the Australian state of New South Wales over accusations he had not reported to authorities child sex-abuse claims from the 1970s made against his late father, Frank Houston.
The elder man died in 2004 and was never charged.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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