Harvest Church Lawsuits Expose How ‘Mission Work’ Enables Predatory Abuse

Three men have filed federal lawsuits against Harvest Christian Fellowship, claiming they were sexually abused and trafficked by former pastor Paul Havsgaard while living in church-run children’s homes in Romania. The suits also accuse church founder Greg Laurie and missions pastor Richard Schutte of covering up the abuse for two decades (because apparently protecting the church’s reputation matters more than protecting children). Here’s what makes this particularly insidious: Evangelical missions work often operates with minimal oversight, creating perfect conditions for predatory behavior. Churches send trusted leaders overseas where they’re beyond the reach of proper background checks and regulatory oversight. When abuse happens, it’s easier to cover up because victims are isolated, often in foreign countries, and the church controls the narrative back home. The lawsuit reveals how Harvest’s leadership allegedly knew about Havsgaard’s behavior but failed to act. This isn’t just negligence—it’s a systematic problem with how evangelical organizations prioritize institutional protection over child safety. Former members describe a culture where questioning leadership was discouraged and “submission to authority” was paramount (sound familiar?). Thing is, secular child protection agencies have established protocols for preventing and responding to abuse in institutional settings. Professional social workers receive training in recognizing warning signs and mandatory reporting. Background checks are thorough and standardized. When abuse occurs, there are clear reporting chains and accountability measures. Contrast this with evangelical missions organizations, where “calling” often trumps qualifications, where spiritual authority shields leaders from scrutiny, and where “forgiveness” is weaponized to silence victims. The result? Repeated patterns of abuse that continue for years while churches protect their brand. The Harvest case follows familiar patterns we’ve seen at other megachurches: initial denial, claims that leadership “didn’t know,” and attempts to frame the scandal as isolated incidents rather than systemic failures. But three separate lawsuits suggest this wasn’t an anomaly—it was enabled by evangelical culture that prioritizes male authority and institutional loyalty over child protection. Research consistently shows that secular child protection systems, despite their flaws, outperform faith-based alternatives in preventing abuse and supporting victims. Professional training, external oversight, and evidence-based protocols work better than prayer and “biblical counseling” when it comes to keeping kids safe. These lawsuits matter because they expose how evangelical missions work can become a hunting ground for predators, protected by religious authority and enabled by a culture of unquestioning submission. Until evangelical organizations implement the same professional standards required of secular institutions, this pattern will continue. Source: Christian Post