Assemblies of God leaders address sex abuse scandal that roiled Chi Alpha campus ministry

After a convicted sex offender abused students through Chi Alpha, an Assemblies of God program, officials announced policy changes. Some say it's not enough.

This article is part of “Pastors and Prey,” a series investigating sex abuse allegations in the Assemblies of God.

Speaking to thousands of pastors gathered Wednesday in Orlando, Florida, for a biennial meeting of the Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal denomination’s senior leader, Doug Clay, began by addressing an issue that has “put a stain on the church and a scar on people’s lives” — sex abuse in the Chi Alpha college ministry.

On Monday, an NBC News investigation examined how Chi Alpha pastors guided hundreds of students to Daniel Savala, a convicted sex offender heralded by some as “the holiest man alive.” In signed statements, lawsuits and criminal filings, at least 10 men and boys have accused Savala of sexually abusing them, many at his Houston home and in his backyard sauna. The reporting revealed that senior Assemblies of God officials were warned repeatedly about Savala but failed to cut off his influence, allowing more teens and young men to be abused.

Two days later, Clay and other Assemblies of God leaders defended their handling of the matter and pledged to take steps to prevent anything like it from happening again.

“We’re committed to identifying within our system, within our structures, what’s broken, what can be fixed to prevent these kinds of things,” said Clay, the denomination’s general superintendent.