Passion DC Is Scaling Church Hurt
Documented evidence shows that Passion DC staff routinely ignores member and visitor communications—often for weeks or months, despite repeated follow ups.
◊ In many instances, a member was directed to contact a particular staff member—only to be ignored for months, no matter how many follow-ups the member sent.
◊ Staff members have no-showed church members for confirmed appointments without apology.
◊ At times, new believers have been completely ignored when attempting to connect at Passion’s suggestion. (“Text Life to 33864 if you put your faith in Jesus today.”)
◊ The dc@passioncitychurch.com email account was unmonitored for months if not years, leaving all inquiries unanswered.
The available evidence suggests that hundreds or thousands have experienced staff nonresponsiveness. Countless have felt hurt and disrespected, many to the point of leaving Passion. Yet Passion has refused to investigate the scope of the problem, and according to those Passion does know were ghosted, has offered no apologies.
When a longstanding member sought to address the issue privately, staff suggested that he find another church. Then, when the concerned member sent a letter to the church community documenting the concerns, Pastor Ben Stuart explicitly demanded that he either retract the letter or leave Passion. That demand came without community involvement, contrary to Matthew 18, and staff later reframed the ultimatum as mere advice. Instead of addressing the concerns, Paster Ben resorted to stating that the concerned member should seek counseling because of the letter—a letter countless of members thanked him for.
The concerned member has always sought reconciliation, most recently inviting Pastor Ben to participate in mediation with a mutually trusted third party. Pastor Ben has declined and has stated that he will not attempt reconciliation.
If you know of efforts to silence discussion, or have experienced rudeness yourself, feel free to email anonymously: stopscalingchurchhurt@gmail.com.
Questions for Pastor Ben Stuart
◊ Do you believe that Christians need not apologize for wrongdoing if the victim does not confront them?
◊ Have you conducted an investigation to identify everyone who has been ghosted? If not, is that because you are uninterested in determining the scope of the problem? Do you believe it is unnecessary to apologize to ghosted individuals?
◊ If others absorb all costs, are you willing to identify all individuals who emailed dc@passioncitychurch.com while it was unmonitored in order to better assess the scope of the problem and to send apologies?
◊ Have you apologized to everyone you do know was ghosted?
◊ Have you made it clear to staff that unapologetic ghosting is unacceptable?
◊ Why was the response of Jacob and Patrick to the member raising this issue—even before he sent the January 29 letter—that he should find another church?
◊ Countless members supported the concerned member’s decision to send the January 29 letter, yet you responded by stripping the concerned member of doorholder status and suggesting that he leave Passion. When church members disagree about how to address wrongdoing, shouldn’t leaders respond with humility and dialogue rather than punishing those they disagree with?
◊ What do you believe is the biblical justification for your refusal to seek healing and reconciliation with the concerned member?
◊ Would you agree to an independent third-party review of how Passion handled this situation?