Bethel leaders admit failed response to prophecy, harassment allegations

Leaders of the California-based megachurch released a Sunday statement taking responsibility for failing to properly acknowledge concerns over embattled minister Shawn Bolz. Bethel did not fully bring discipline, closure, or clear communication in response to the seriousness of the church’s concerns about Bolz, according to the joint leadership statement penned by senior leader Bill Johnson, senior associate leader Kris Vallotton, and lead pastor and dean of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry Dann Farrelly.

Bolz preached and prophesied at Bethel and with church teams on many occasions until 2019, according to the statement. The church later deplatformed Bolz over concerns of false prophecy and sexual harassment allegations. Several respected leaders wondered if Bolz used social media data to help generate his words of prophecy, which Bolz denied when confronted by Bethel leaders, according to a 2025 statement. At around the same time, a former member of Bolz’s team accused him of inappropriate behavior and creating an inappropriate work environment. Bolz denied the allegations and ultimately stopped communicating with Bethel’s leadership about the claims entirely, according to the 2025 statement.

What made the church leaders speak out now? Bethel’s latest statement came days after apologist Mike Winger released a nearly six-hour video examining Bolz’s controversial prophecies and the claims of sexual harassment against him. Winger referred to Bolz’s prophecies as the ultimate gimmick and slammed Bethel leaders for staying silent about the accusations against the minister.

Bethel leaders hurt and scared people by not telling the truth about Bolz soon enough, and the church shouldn’t rush past this now, according to the Sunday statement. The leaders went on to issue an apology for their handling of the allegations and said people are defined by how they respond to God’s amazing grace, not their earthly sins or mistakes. Bethel’s trust has been broken with Bolz’s ministry regarding the preacher’s prophetic integrity, and the church did not believe he was truthful about how he received his prophetic words, leaders said. Bethel leaders further believe that Bolz engaged in sexually explicit and harassing behavior toward his own staff, which should not be condoned, the leaders added.

The church recommitted itself to accountability and truth and planned to enact more leadership oversight, the leaders said. Bethel planned to implement a confrontation model that included wider communication, while incorporating training on how to weigh prophetic words, according to the Sunday release.