Chris Reed announces plan to launch new ‘Jesus Revolution Church’ after personal failure

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Friday, October 04, 2024

Former MorningStar Ministries leader Chris Reed is getting ready to start a new congregation called Jesus Revolution Church in South Carolina, just over a month after resigning from the ministry amid allegations of sexual abuse of minors by a former volunteer and a confession by Reed that he had an inappropriate relationship with an adult ex-student.

According to finance coach and podcaster Andrew Bullard, Reed announced his new church on one of his Facebook pages but deleted it after it began attracting criticism. Bullard captured a screenshot of the announcement before Reed deleted it and shared his disappointment on X Wednesday night.

“1 Timothy 3 is not being followed. Where is the accountability? I’m heartbroken for Chris’ victim at this moment. I’m heartbroken for how low of a standard we have in the charismatic church for leaders. Power and fame are valued over the faithful care of the sheep,” Bullard wrote on X.

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In the screenshot of the church announcement on Reed’s Facebook page, he said it would be launched in York County, near Charlotte.

“Coming soon! Very soon. How this came together was/is a miracle. ‘Do not despise the day of small beginnings …,’” Reed wrote along with a photo of a simple church building.

“It’s been said ‘every move of God starts in a manger and dies in a cathedral.’ And the vision for this church/movement is the most special part. God is looking for those most serious in this hour! More to come soon! There’s always a couple haters but so many have been so kind. Your contributions are most appreciated! ChrisReedMinistries.Net,” he ended.

He had also shared an earlier photo of what appeared to be the inside of the small church building on his Facebook page on Sept. 25 with the message, “Much more to come soon….York County, SC.”

Reed resigned from MorningStar Ministries just over a year after taking over the leadership reigns of the ministry from founder Rick Joyner.

He said that though he was “heartbroken,” he had to resign because he wanted to do what God has called him to do through the creation of “an online model of house churches led by regional elders, based on the Acts 2:42 model” he claimed God shared with him.

Reed also stated at the time that he planned on investing in an online school of the prophetic and “at some point ... relocate and start a new church in another part of South Carolina even though” he had no money or job.

It was later revealed that MorningStar Ministries is now facing multiple lawsuits from men who say they were sexually abused by former volunteer, Erickson Douglas Lee, as minors. Several top officials of the organization and multiple other staff members were accused of gross negligence for allegedly engaging in the cover-up of multiple incidences of sexual abuse in the ministry.

Joyner later slammed Reed for disrespecting the ministry he founded and stated that before Reed was promoted to president and CEO of MorningStar Ministries, he was restored to ministry after they learned of an inappropriate relationship between him and a former MorningStar University student.

Joyner said both Reed — who is married with six children — and the student had assured him and the organization's board that the relationship was just based on texts, but they later discovered it was physical. Reed has stated to The Roys Report that he sexually pursued the woman in 2021, kissed her and sent her "terrible" sexual texts while he was the senior pastor of MorningStar Fellowship Church. He denied claims of sexual touching. 

"We had to take their word that they cut it off, drawn a line, nothing physical had happened. Well, now I can say with a lot of confidence that's not true,” Joyner said recently. “Neither one of them were telling us the truth then. It appears and I say there's a lot of evidence and it's mounting, that yes, there was physical stuff that happened.”