Supporters rally behind former New Life senior pastor asked to resign amid accusations
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On Sunday, members of a southern Colorado church gathered to show support for a local senior pastor asked to resign earlier this month.
"First and foremost, we're just here to support our pastor, Brady Boyd. He was our pastor for over 18 years at New Life and did some extraordinary things, so that's why we're out here today," one demonstrator, Brianna Martinez, said.
Now-former Senior Pastor Brady Boyd was asked to resign from Colorado Springs' New Life Church on June 18 amid accusations that he was aware of a colleague's sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl years prior.
READ MORE: New Life Church senior pastor asked to resign amid accusations he knew about sexual abuse of a minor
That colleague, Robert Morris – Boyd’s former boss – stepped down last year from Gateway Church in Texas after admitting to "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a young girl, beginning in 1982 when she was 12 years old.
Boyd, who became New Life’s senior pastor in 2007, later appointed Morris as an overseer of the church.
Though Morris’s attorneys have stated that many church leaders were aware of the abuse "as early as 2005," Boyd has maintained he was unaware of the sexual abuse until 2024.
However, elders at New Life previously said they don't believe that claim is true.
"When Brady recently told our congregation, inaccurately, that he was unaware of certain details regarding Morris’ past abuse, trust was broken, and we, the Board of Elders, asked Brady to resign," a statement from the church announcing Boyd's resignation read in part.
On June 29, a group gathered along Voyager Parkway near the New Life Church, wearing yellow shirts that read "We stand with Pastor Brady" and holding signs in support of the ousted pastor.
One demonstrator, Dick Archer, told KRDO13 he was a little confused by the process surrounding Boyd's resignation and was "just looking for the truth."
"There's social media truths, there's a very elegantly delivered pastor statement truths, you know, there's a whole bunch of different truths. They don't all line up," Archer said. "For us, we need, we need more information that really reveals the truth."'
Many supporters, including Archer, voiced frustration with how the situation was handled and a lack of transparency from church leadership.
"We weren't happy with the way the information was delivered. We weren't happy with the way that Brady left the church, that he resigned, we don't have information around that as well," Archer said. "So we're just kind of not happy about the process, and we're gonna support him and love on him until hopefully this thing settles out."
Above all, supporters emphasized forgiveness on Sunday.
"Quite frankly, I don't think what Brady did is something that could not be forgiven," Martinez said. "And you know, what the church is doing, do we think they handled it maybe not the best? Most definitely. Can they come back from that? Most definitely."
New Life Church said that Daniel Grothe will be taking over as senior pastor, marking a significant change in leadership for the church after Boyd’s 18-year tenure in the role.
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