Dear church,
Bobbie and I hope that you are doing well. We know it has been a long and challenging season for many. That’s why, as a church, we continue to believe for God to rescue, restore, and rebuild.
We regret that a few months have passed since we last communicated about our next steps in Dallas, and I want to thank you for your patience. You are important to us, which is why we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to make the right decision for our church in Texas.
We wish that we would have been able to communicate with you sooner, but we are only now able to share more details about the future of Hillsong Dallas.
As we were establishing Hillsong Church in Dallas, the pandemic swept across the globe and quickly changed the shape of our growing church in the city. Not only that, there was an abrupt change of leadership that may have felt unsettling.
Many factors, all amplified by the pandemic, have resulted in the difficult decision to pause all operations at Hillsong Dallas for now.
Hillsong, at its core, is a local church operating in various cities around the world that is all about God and people. We love and value the people God entrusts to us for any portion of time.
We still have a huge heart and vision for the great state of Texas. When the time is right and we have identified and trained suitable lead pastors, we will consider relaunching. Until that time, however, we are pausing operations including Sunday gatherings. We hope to keep a core of Connect Groups, and we encourage you to lean-in to Hillsong Church Online.
We also have some information we can share with you about the recent leadership transition. We received several complaints regarding Reed Bogard’s failure to uphold the standards of Hillsong leadership. We suspended him from his pastoral duties as we initiated a review into these incidents.
Early in our process, the Bogards decided to resign from Hillsong Church. We accepted their resignations and acknowledged the time that the Bogards spent establishing our Dallas location. The examination has now concluded, and though the participants who were interviewed asked us not to divulge personal details, we can share some of what we learned with you.
It was very disappointing to learn that, while some of you experienced the Bogards as dedicated pastors, many others have experienced leadership that failed to meet the commitments and standards of Hillsong Church. I want to be the first to apologize to those who felt disappointed or hurt, and I pray that God does a swift work in bringing peace and healing.
In the days ahead, we understand that some may opt for a local church instead of an online experience. We know that Dallas is rich with many great churches and have ministry friends who pastor strong churches in the area. We encourage and support you to do what is necessary to further your spiritual growth, which includes being connected to a church community.
With all our love,
Brian and Bobbie
Global Senior Pastors
May 17 2024
