(ChurchLeaders) Although no evidence of sexual abuse was uncovered at Menlo Church, its leaders weren’t transparent and should improve safety. Those are the key takeaways from a report by Zero Abuse Project, a third-party investigator hired by the San Francisco-area megachurch. Menlo shared a link to the full report on its website and will hold an open house this Sunday, October 17, for discussions related to it.
The church and its longtime former pastor, John Ortberg, had come under fire for not disclosing that a children’s ministry volunteer confessed to being sexually attracted to minors. As ChurchLeaders has reported, that volunteer turned out to be the pastor’s son, Johnny Ortberg. The disclosure came from another of Ortberg’s adult children, Daniel Lavery, who expressed concern that Johnny was still permitted to work with children at Menlo.