How Faith-Based ‘Trust’ Enabled Systematic Child Abuse in Romania

Two Romanian men are now suing Harvest Christian Fellowship and its celebrity pastor Greg Laurie, claiming the California megachurch’s “hands-off” approach to overseas ministry enabled years of horrific sexual abuse at orphanages they funded. The case reveals how evangelical organizations often treat overseas missions like spiritual ventures rather than the complex social service operations they actually are. Here’s what happened: Paul Havsgaard, a longtime Harvest staffer, started ten orphanages in Romania in the late 1990s. The church sent money but provided zero oversight (because hey, he was a “man of God”). Havsgaard allegedly told children as young as eight that “what I want, God wants” while systematically abusing them. When other pastors discovered evidence of abuse in 2004—including hotel receipts showing Havsgaard taking boys to nearby hotels after midnight—they reported it to Harvest leadership. The church’s response? Nothing. They continued funding the ministry for four more years. This isn’t just about one predator (though Havsgaard’s alleged crimes are horrifying). It’s about how evangelical culture creates perfect conditions for abuse through its obsession with spiritual authority and distrust of “worldly” accountability measures. Think about it: Any legitimate social services organization running orphanages would require background checks, regular inspections, financial audits, mandatory reporting protocols, and professional oversight. But evangelical ministries often operate on “trust in God” and personal relationships with “godly men.” When abuse allegations surfaced, instead of immediately involving authorities and child protection services, the church handled it internally—and then ignored the results. The attorneys expect to file 20 more lawsuits representing additional victims. That’s not a few isolated incidents—that’s systematic failure enabled by a culture that prioritizes spiritual authority over child safety. Harvest Christian Fellowship is now claiming they aren’t responsible because the orphanages were run through a separate nonprofit. But they funded it, their website promoted it with their phone number, and their missions pastor sat on the board. When it mattered, they treated it like their ministry. Now that there are lawsuits, suddenly it’s “independent.” This case exposes why secular child protection systems exist in the first place. Professional social workers understand trauma, recognize grooming patterns, and follow evidence-based practices for protecting vulnerable children. They don’t assume someone is safe because they quote scripture or work for a church. The real tragedy? These children desperately needed genuine help and protection. Instead, they got a system designed around spiritual rhetoric rather than actual safety—and that system catastrophically failed them. Secular child welfare agencies, for all their flaws, would never have ignored credible abuse reports for four years. Faith-based organizations love to talk about being “countercultural,” but their approach to child protection isn’t countercultural—it’s pre-cultural, ignoring decades of research about how to actually keep children safe. Sources: Christianity Today