Robert Morris’ son, James Morris, names new house of worship Passage Church
James Morris, the son of disgraced Gateway Church founder Robert Morris in Southlake, Texas, has announced that the new church he intends to plant will be called Passage Church.
The announcement, which was shared on X by abuse survivor advocate Amy Smith, comes more than a week after James Morris revealed that he was ready to plant his own church with his wife Bridgette.
“We are thrilled to announce the Lord has given us a name for the church he put in our hearts to plant! Thank you for praying with and for us! We have spent the past few weeks praying and seeking the Lord, and we feel like God has confirmed the name through multiple scriptures and people. The name is Passage Church!” the couple said.
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The naming of the new church comes more than a month after James Morris stepped down as leader of Gateway Church in late July after serving in that role for just a few weeks. His father resigned on June 18 amid allegations of child sex abuse.
In explaining the choice of name for their church, Morris and his wife said it has a “twofold meaning.”
“First, ‘Passage’ is another word for scripture. We believe in the authority and power of the Holy Scriptures, the Bible. Passage Church is on the Word of God and will be a place where people are taught the Word of God,” they said.
“Second, ‘Passage’ is another word for making a journey from one place to another. Passage Church is on the move and filled with people pursuing God in every season. Every person’s life is filled with transitions and journeys; we will be a place that helps people no matter what stage of their journey, pointing them towards Jesus and a relationship with God. Jesus said in John 10:9, ‘I am the door.’ Another word for door is passage,” the couple’s announcement continued.
They explained that they plan on hosting an interest meeting in early October, but they had not settled on a venue yet. They further asked volunteers to help them pray so that they would find not just a place to host their interest meeting but also a place to worship.
“If you are interested in volunteering or being a part of our launch team, we will have a sign-up for that at our interest meeting or you can email us. Another way you can start supporting us right now is by praying. We would love to have as many people praying for Passage Church as possible!” their announcement added.
“Our greatest need right now is a place to gather. We are not stressed about this because we know God will provide but it’s a very practical need so please join us in that prayer.”
In June, Cindy Clemishire, 54, reported that Robert Morris began sexually abusing her on Christmas Day in 1982 when she was just 12 years old. She says the abuse continued for four-and-a-half years before others found out. Morris was reportedly disciplined but later allowed to return to ministry.
When questioned about the allegations by The Christian Post, Morris only confessed to being involved in "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady" more than 35 years ago. He said he repented and was restored to ministry.
Clemishire insisted to CP, however, that she was no young lady when Morris abused her.
"I was 12 years old. I was a little girl. A very innocent little girl. And he was brought into our home. He and his wife, Debbie, and their little boy, Josh, trusted and preached at the church that my dad helped start and then began grooming all of us to do this, which took me decades to wrap my brain around as an adult," she said.
Gateway Church has commissioned an independent investigation into the allegations against Morris and those findings remain pending.
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