This is a continuation of our coverage regarding character letters sent in support of a sex offender. See Part 1 and Part 2.
On May 17, 2024, Joseph ‘Kade’ Abbott plead guilty to three counts of sexual assault by an authority figure where criminal charges from two counties in Tennessee were combined (Blount & Sevier). He was sentenced on October 30, 2024 to six years in prison without parole for crimes against a 14 year old minor. He will register as a sex offender for life.
Kade Abbott was a Middle School teacher at the Apostolic Christian Academy, which is operated by the First Apostolic Church of Maryville in Tennessee. His crimes occurred while he was employed at the school. Kenneth Carpenter is the pastor of this ALJC church and academy and the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ (ALJC), a much smaller Oneness Pentecostal organization than the United Pentecostal Church.
In the first and second installments, I posted four character letters each that were sent to the court in support of Kade Abbott. Today four others are being shared and all except the last one mention or are tied to the Aberdeen First Pentecostal Church in Mississippi, a legally affiliated UPCI church. Kade Abbott attended there for many years when he was younger. As was previously done, redactions have been made of addresses, phone numbers and emails of those who sent letters.
As an added note to the last post which included a letter from Luke Stumbo, it’s come to our attention that besides Kade Abbott and Luke Stumbo both being Middle School teachers at the Apostolic Christian Academy in Maryville, Tennessee, they were also helpers for the school’s daycare after school program. They took care of the school age group.
Caleb Glass was a former Hyphen pastor at the Aberdeen First Pentecostal Church and was the lead pastor at the Plainview of Smithville, a daughter work of Aberdeen. Caleb does not appear in the 2025 UPCI Directory as a licensed minister. Cody Kennedy is the current pastor.
Caleb shares that he first met Kade when he moved to Mississippi in 2008. “I really got to know him when I began teaching Kade in classes until he left for college. …I stayed in contact with him over the course of the years in college.”
I will insert here what was mentioned in prior posts. I have heard accusations against Kade Abbott going back to these Bible college days, allegations including that of him requesting inappropriate photos of multiple females.
Caleb Glass continues, “He genuinely has a good heart that cares and hopes for the best in people. I am aware of the charges brought against him and when I first heard of the news I admittedly reached out to him to check on him.”
Stacy Moore holds some type of position at the Aberdeen First Pentecostal Church as she has a church email address.
Stacy Moore shares that she first met Kade when he and his family began attending the Aberdeen church. It’s shared that when Kade returned from attending Bible college, that he became the worship leader before attending elsewhere.
Stacy writes, “In the time I’ve known Kade, he has always been a Godly, Spirit led, honorable, trustworthy, and caring young man. I have always been impressed by his character. …He grew close to everyone in the youth group at AFPC with his wit and outgoing personality.”
“Kade is the type of individual who never meets a stranger. He is also the type of person who is quick to make things right when he has wronged someone. In summary, I have the upmost respect for Kade as a person, minister, and friend.”
Tammy Soden shares that Kade, “had his first serious girlfriend in his teens. Over years of seeing him grow and mature, I neither heard or seen any significant issues between him and adults, peers or children.”
She continues, “During visits home from college I observed him to be encouraging and appropriate with preteen and teens.”
Tammy ends with, “Kade and his ministry have been compromised. He has lost everything except God, family and a few friends. He may have made poor or even naive choices which led to this day. I pray for mercy for him and recovery for all involved parties.”
Wesley Knott went to school with Kade and he has been a “trusted friend” for over two decades. He writes, “Throughout our friendship, I have had the privilege of witnessing Kade’s character, kindness, and unwavering commitment to doing what is right firsthand. In the more than 20 years I’ve known him, I have never witnessed Kade lie or cause harm to another. I wholeheartedly believe that he is a person of integrity, and I cannot think of another individual I trust more than Kade. I feel incredibly lucky to call him my friend.”
Kenneth Carpenter is the pastor of First Apostolic Church of Maryville in Tennessee where Kade Abbott worked in their Apostolic Christian Academy and this is when his crimes occurred. Besides the criminal convictions against Joseph Kade Abbott, there is a pending civil lawsuit against him, the church and the academy.
I originally posted about this on February 20, 2025 on our Facebook Page.
To be continued.
You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.
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