Bethel Church places leader Ben Armstrong on administrative leave after allegations of sexual abuse and grooming from former students

Editor’s Note: Please be aware that this story contains allegations of sexual misconduct. Read with care. If you have experienced harm, help is available.

Bethel Church has placed longtime pastor Ben Armstrong on administrative leave after allegations that he sexually abused a former student and groomed another more than 15 years ago were made public.

Armstrong — who is also the overseer of Prophetic Ministry at Bethel — admitted years ago to a “moral failure” that happened in 2009, saying he had an affair with an intern. At the time, the situation resulted in his temporary removal from ministry at the church, a public confession and “a multi-year healing and restoration process,” according to a recent statement from Bethel. Video clips indicate he’s since been frequently praised by church leaders for his honesty about the affair and the restoration of his marriage and ministry. 

But on Feb. 13, a former intern and Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry student — who identified herself only as Sarah — appeared on the Wake Up and Win Podcast, referencing experiences with Armstrong that she referred to as sexual abuse rather than an affair. She was 23 when the alleged experiences occurred, around 2009.

“I lost everything,” she said in the hour-and-a-half-long YouTube video. “I lost my faith, I lost my community, my family, who I was, my identity. I had to start all over.” 

A few hours before Sarah’s video was posted, leaders of Bethel Church published a statement explaining that they had been made aware of an accusation involving Armstrong and a former BSSM student, adding that the incident — which allegedly took place “prior to a known moral failure in 2009” — was being addressed with “fresh eyes.” 

Bethel’s Feb. 13 statement appears to stem from another accusation made against Armstrong by former BSSM student Rozanne Leigh, who posted a video on Facebook at the end of January claiming Armstrong groomed her around the same time he allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior with Sarah.

Bethel leaders came back with a second statement two days after the video featuring Sarah and her story was posted — and a few weeks after Leigh’s claims — announcing that Armstrong was being placed on administrative leave while an independent third-party investigation takes place. They also emphasized that the decision to place Armstrong on leave does not indicate proven guilt. 

“This step forward is not a verdict, but a necessary measure intended to reflect the care and sobriety with which we approach matters of this nature and our desire to operate in transparency and truth,” the statement read.

Bethel leaders did not explicitly state which incidents they were referring to in their two statements about Armstrong. The statements don’t mention either Sarah or Leigh by name or provide much detail relating to the circumstances behind the allegations. Neither Bethel Church nor Armstrong responded to requests for comment for this story. 

Armstrong’s suspension from ministering at the church comes just weeks after Bethel leadership publicly apologized for failing to take appropriate action for years after allegations of sexual misconduct re-emerged against Shawn Bolz, who Bethel regularly platformed until 2019. The apology was accompanied by the launch of a new process that facilitates the reporting of alleged abuse within the church, called Safe Church. 

What’s been alleged against Armstrong?

In the video alleging sexual abuse by Armstrong, Sarah said that about a year after coming to Bethel following a rough childhood, she was invited to intern with Armstrong and live with him and his family. She said she experienced situations that seemed like “red flags” while living with him, such as him encouraging her to engage in physical affection with him while reminding her that he’s a father figure to her. 

Sarah said there were two separate instances when Armstrong crossed “sexual boundaries” without her consent. In one, she said Armstrong touched her sexually while they were sharing a room on a family trip, and in another, she said he dragged her to his bed by her arms while she said “No” and touched her again. Sarah said that Armstrong would tell her these were spiritual attacks in the form of tests that they had passed. 

She said she went to Bethel leaders to tell them what happened, but that she mainly blamed herself for the encounters and didn’t receive much support from them. Around 2009, Armstrong confessed to having an affair and was made an example by the church of repentance and restoration, as detailed by Bethel Church leader Danny Silk in his book “Unpunishable” and in various interviews, including one in 2018 where Silk repeatedly refers to the person Armstrong was in an alleged affair with as a “girl,” noting that she was also an intern. 

The other student who made a recent claim that Armstrong acted inappropriately toward her, Leigh, explained in a Facebook video in January that he took her under his wing when she was new at Bethel, around the same time Armstrong was engaging in allegedly inappropriate behavior with Sarah. She said she was 19 at the time, and that Armstrong would arrange one-on-one meetings with her — where he would pull her from class — to help her with her “intimacy issues.” She said he would sit closely to her and place his hand on her upper thigh or near her breast to make her feel more comfortable with touch. 

Leigh also appeared on the Wake Up and Win podcast at the beginning of February, where she shared her alleged experiences in an hour-long interview.

Bethel’s response to the allegations

In its statement this week, Bethel Church did not name the third-party organization that would investigate the claims made against Armstrong, but the church’s website states that Bethel has partnered with Miratech, a third-party organization that specializes in corporate compliance reporting, as part of its Safe Church initiative. 

After a confidential complaint of abuse is received by Miratech, Bethel’s website says, the organization turns the complaint over to a team at the church, which may conduct an internal investigation and report findings to Bethel leaders. Those findings may then be disclosed to the church board and membership “if deemed necessary by legal counsel.” 

In an interview with Armstrong in 2018, Bethel senior leader Silk asked Armstrong why he thinks he wasn’t fired after what occurred in 2009. Armstrong responded in part that he’s basically a family member to Bethel leaders, explaining that he grew up with them and “you can’t get rid of a son or daughter.” Silk’s interview with Armstrong includes references to the “culture of honor,” a term that Bethel Church uses to refers to creating an environment of trust, freedom and empowerment rather than punishment.

In Bethel’s statement made last Friday, leaders said they are taking time to reflect, seek counsel and learn how they can maintain “accountability, compassion, and restoration.” 

“We are reviewing this with a more informed understanding of appropriate interactions and relationships between leaders and congregants, and the power dynamics and resulting responsibilities that may factor into these interactions,” the statement read. “We are also reviewing our processes and pastoral care to ensure our response to victims reflects compassion, integrity, and support.”

If you have information to share related to misconduct by church leaders and would like to speak to a reporter, reach out to editor@shastascout.org. Your information will be kept confidential, within the boundaries of the law, unless you provide explicit permission for Shasta Scout to use information you’ve shared in future reporting. Available resources for sexual harassment victims can be found on the California Attorney General website.

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