This is Part 23 of an ongoing series of articles pertaining to sexual abuse and the United Pentecostal Church. It is the eighth article addressing Calvary Gospel Church in Madison, Wisconsin and Steven J. Dahl of the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church in Oconto. As you read this article, keep in mind that I must call what I am sharing to be allegations because no one has [yet] been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime. It’s what happens when people fail to report child sexual abuse to police or CPS. It doesn’t mean I do not believe the reports of these survivors, of which there are many. I do believe them, stand firmly with them, and support them.
Just as the church has authority to examine and approve ministerial candidates, so it has authority to remove someone from a ministerial position if he no longer meets God’s requirements. Actually the person disqualifies himself by his actions, and the church simply recognizes this fact. Solomon permanently removed Abiathar from the high priesthood, a hereditary role explicitly ordained by God, because of his rebellion (I Kings 2:26-27). – David Bernard, January-March 1988 Forward
Today is a day of reckoning, a time for light to shine into the darkness found within Calvary Gospel Church. No more can certain alleged crimes, sins and the mishandling of child sexual abuse be kept from its members. While the leadership of John Wesley Grant and his son, Roy Grant, have controlled what information has been shared with members, they cannot control what is happening today because it has reached outside their walls and gone public for the world to see. While they may be able to manipulate and pull the wool over the heads of some who enter their church doors, they will not be able to do so as the public learns of decades of horror that some members have suffered.
They have had more than a year to come clean, to admit they failed to protect children and to report crimes against them, but instead of reaching out in humility to those harmed, they have attempted to create an us versus them mentality among its members, crying out how they are not a cult, and going so far as to read Scriptures just last Wednesday and proclaim that the survivors who have come forward have brought damnation upon themselves. More than a year ago their response was similar when they further victimized survivors by claiming this was a spiritual attack, saying they [the survivors] needed to ask themselves what part they played in why their sexual abuse happened (as if young children play a role in their sexual assault), and have claimed that they always report these cases to the police and that parents didn’t want to report them when police were contacted. This is simply not true. When Debbie McNulty, one of the survivors, went to report her case last year, she discovered that the church had not reported any cases of sexual abuse to police.
We know that Calvary Gospel Church and its leadership have been aware of the articles and blogs written about them. They shut down the review section of their church Facebook Page last year after some former members started leaving negative reviews there. They have deleted comments that some have left on their posts. The same happened with Steven Dahl and he even removed the Facebook Page for his church, changed what was written on his profile, and made it so only friends could comment. The website for his church disappeared as well. He also did not reach out to his alleged victim, Debbie McNulty. He has previously claimed that this was a spiritual attack on him and that he was praying that God “Avenge me of my adversaries.” [scroll down for this comment] He periodically posts about people needing to forgive others, as early as yesterday.
It has come to the place where Katelyn Ferral, a reporter from Capital Newspapers, has heard the voices of the survivors crying out, saying there is something very wrong at this church. She initiated an investigation and her article was released today. Police Chief Mike Koval is now involved in this situation as well. Later today at 11:15 am, at the State Capitol, Senate Parlor, “Wisconsin Senator Lena Taylor, Representatives Chris Taylor and Melissa Sargent will be joined by survivors of childhood sexual assault, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, (WCASA), the Wisconsin Chapter of The National Association of Social Workers (WI-NASW), and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) to introduce two major victim rights and child protection bills.” [link] These bills “would significantly reform Wisconsin’s mandated reporting law on child sex abuse and eliminate the civil statute of limitations on child sex crimes.” One would close the current loophole that allows clergy to claim clergy privilege and not report cases of child sexual abuse. The bills need your support and they need to be passed. Debbie McNulty and Rebecca Martin Byrd spoke boldly at this event and afterward they were interviewed by more than one news source. This is just the beginning.
I have been up all night in anticipation of today’s events. My heart goes out to all the courageous people who have stepped forward to shine a light where darkness has prevailed for far too long. May your voices prevail and be heard and may the lies of others be exposed.
I call on David Bernard, the General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church, as well as James D. Booker, the Wisconsin District Superintendent, to fully investigate this church and its leadership. Let’s see actions to go along with what you wrote in the 1988 Forward article. I also call on David Bernard to review how United Pentecostal Churches are handling, and mishandling, sexual abuse cases. Introduce a resolution for the organization to take a strong stand against sexual abuse, take action against ministers who fail to report or who cover up these crimes and revoke their ministerial license, and create a policy that clearly states that all your licensed ministers are required to report any suspected case of child sexual abuse regardless of what the law in their state stipulates. There is nothing in your Manual that addresses the need of your ministers and pastors to report abuse.
Jon Eckenrod, a former ordained minister in the UPCI and former associate pastor at Calvary Gospel Church, now says he was aware of instances where older men pursued young girls while he taught at the church and school. He heard rumors of other sexual improprieties with members, but said he always deferred to [John] Grant on how best to handle them and never sought details. – From the article, Stolen childhoods: Women allege they were sexually abused as kids at Calvary Gospel Church in Madison
Katelyn Ferral later released an article about the statute of limitations in Wisconsin, with a picture of Calvary Gospel Church and the notation, “Calvary Gospel Church at 5301 Commercial Ave. in Madison. Numerous former members have said they were abused there as children. They say finances are the only thing holding them back from filing a civil suit against the church and would pursue that route if it is within the state’s statute of limitations for such cases.”
On August 15, a second article was released where another survivor has come forward to tell her story: Another woman comes forward to allege sexual abuse at Madison’s Calvary Gospel Church
“What I didn’t realize is that in addition, they were going to tell all my friends … never to speak to me,” she said. “I don’t even know how to put it into words. We were never allowed to have friends outside of the church or associate with people outside of the church and all of a sudden all of my friends are gone.” – Lisa Kum, child sexual assault survivor, from the article: Another woman comes forward to allege sexual abuse at Madison’s Calvary Gospel Church
On August 19, 2019, Dee from The Wartburg Watch started blogging about this church and the survivors. The second article posted on August 21.
Since this article was released, Calvary Gospel Church has removed their Twitter account. They had previously blocked me some time back when they discovered I was tagging them in some tweets. But on August 8, I discovered after tagging them in things related to this story, that their account is no longer available. It was @CGCMadison.
Note: I have updated this article as events transpired through August 31.
Related articles:
Proposal for clergy to report accusations gets support from alleged Madison child victims – August 7, 2019 (with video)
Group alleges ministers at Madison church sexually abused them as children: ‘I still don’t sleep’ – August 7, 2019 (with video)
Proposal would make it easier for victims of child sexual abuse to seek justice – August 7, 2019 (with video)
Democrats look to end lawsuit limits, force clergy reports – August 7, 2019 (with video)
What are the statutes of limitations for child sex abuse crimes in Wisconsin? – August 7, 2019
Lawmakers push bills to end statute of limitations on lawsuits for childhood sex assaults, close loophole for clergy to report abuse – August 7, 2019
Democrats look to end lawsuit limits, force clergy reports – August 7, 2109
Democrats look to end lawsuit limits, force clergy reports – August 7, 2019 (Washington Times picked up part of the story)
Democratic State Lawmakers Renew Push For Child Victims Act – August 7, 2019
Democrats look to end lawsuit limits, force clergy reports – August 8, 2019
Democrats look to end lawsuit limits, force clergy reports – August 8, 2019
A Pentecostal Church in WI Has Covered Up Sexual Assault Allegations for Decades – August 8, 2019
Wisconsin bill would force clergy to report child sex abuse – August 8, 2019
Wisconsin Lawmakers Propose Legislation To Combat Sexual Abuse By Clergy – August 8, 2019 (with audio)
Wisconsin Democrats look to force clergy reports of sexual abuse learned in confession – August 8, 2019
Editorial: State laws must protect victims of child sexual abuse – August 14, 2019
Pentecostal Church Allegedly Covered Up Sexual Abuse for 30 Years – August 14, 2019
Calvary Gospel Church in Madison, Wisconsin Covered Up Child Sex Abuse Cases Since 1980s – August 14, 2019
Rape Culture: What the pedophilia cover-up at Calvary Gospel Church has in common with the Jeffrey Epstein case – August 14, 2019
Another woman comes forward to allege sexual abuse at Madison’s Calvary Gospel Church – August 15, 2019
Randy B. Christianson: Calvary Gospel Church’s actions unsettling – August 19, 2019
Child Sex Abuse Allegations Raised Against United Pentecostal’s Calvary Gospel Church, Wisconsin – August 19, 2019
Debbie McNulty Was 11 Years Old When She Was Assaulted by Steve Dahl at Calvary Gospel Church, WI. She Was Called a *Hussy* and the Church Did Nothing – August 21, 2019
Rebecca’s Story: Calvary Gospel Church, WI, Encouraged Her to Date and Marry Her Alleged Pedophile Molester – August 23, 2019
As a Child, Rachel Was Taught to Fear Hell and to Date Older Men: The UPCI ‘s Calvary Gospel Church and a Fractured Gospel – August 30, 2019
Fabu: After a tough August, Labor Day offers a chance to honor all workers’ contributions – August 31, 2019 brief mention
Clergy required to report child sexual abuse told in confession under bill (YouTube)
You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.
********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.
