Gateway Church taps Lifepoint Church founder to lead Texas megachurch

The church in Southlake, Texas, on Sunday named Pastor Daniel Floyd as its next senior pastor. Floyd and his wife, Tammie, in 2005 founded the multi-campus Lifepoint Church based in Fredericksburg, Va., where they have since served as pastors. In 2016, they founded Lifepoint College. Gateway elders on Sunday said they interviewed multiple candidates and consulted with other pastors across the United States during the months-long search. Floyd and his family plan to transition to Texas over the summer, the couple said in a video played during the service Sunday. The new assignment at Gateway is a calling from God for the family and one they did not take lightly, Floyd said.

What has been happening at Gateway? Former Senior Pastor Robert Morris last summer resigned from the church he helped found after a woman accused him of sexual abuse in the 1980s. Cindy Clemishire said he began abusing her when she was 12 years old and he was a traveling preacher. Church leaders in November removed several elders as a result of an independent investigation into Morris’ sexual misconduct. Multiple elders and employees knew about the abuse allegations but did not come forward with the information, according to the investigation. Earlier this year, a grand jury in Oklahoma indicted Morris on five counts of indecent acts with a child.

Dig deeper: Read my report about the allegations leveled against Morris.