The Vineyard Church in Duluth, Minn., has barred former youth pastor Jackson Gatlin from attending worship services or serving in any ministry, after an investigation found Gatlin had engaged in sexual, spiritual, and emotional abuse.

The church also disciplined Gatlin’s parents, Michael and Brenda Gatlin, who had served as senior pastors of the church and as national leaders with Vineyard USA. The investigation found the elder Gatlins, who resigned from their local and national positions in February, had knowledge of their son’s alleged abuse, but failed to report it.

Como previamente reportado por El Informe Roys (TRR), Jackson Gatlin allegedly sexually assaulted five teenage girls when serving as a volunteer youth leader at Duluth Vineyard from 2007 to 2010. 

On October 3, Jackson Gatlin was arrested by officers of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and charged with 10 felony counts of criminal sexual conduct. A day later, he was allowed conditional release from St. Louis County Jail, paying $50,000 in fees. 

Last year, the church hired Respuesta piadosa al abuso en el ambiente cristiano (GRACE) to investigate Jackson Gatlin’s misconduct, the church’s response, and the potential complicity of Michael and Brenda Gatlin in their son’s misconduct. On Nov. 20, GRACE released a 96-page report with the findings of its investigation to the church, which the church subsequently published.

The report stated that GRACE interviewed several sources who disclosed “multiple policy violations regarding Jackson Gatlin’s interactions with girls in the student ministry while (he) was an adult volunteer.”

Further, the leading nonprofit group also found his parents covered for him. “The reports received by GRACE are consistent with Michael and Brenda Gatlin having knowledge of alleged sexual misconduct by Jackson Gatlin,” the report stated.

On Dec. 14, Benjamin Mort, chairman of Duluth Vineyard’s Special Committee of the Church Council, envió una carta to Jackson Gatlin on behalf of the committee.

In his letter, Mort wrote that “the abuse and harm found in the GRACE report is merely a representative sample of what could be corroborated. Your abusive behavior . . . is shocking, wrong and has done great damage to the victims and the Duluth Vineyard community.” 

The committee letter specified that Jackson Gatlin is no longer permitted on the premises of Duluth Vineyard and directed him not to attend “any service or event within the Vineyard movement.” Vineyard USA, to which the Duluth Vineyard belongs, is a network of approximately 500 U.S. congregations in the charismatic tradition. 

The letter also directs Gatlin to have no contact with his victims and “not to be alone with any females.” The church letter also barred the younger Gatlin from being able to “serve or engage in any leadership at any church or Christian organization” and from making any defamatory or deceptive statements about the church. 

TRR reached out to Jackson Gatlin for comment but did not receive a response. 

The church also envió una carta to Michael and Brenda Gatlin that outlined similar disciplinary boundaries for the former pastors, in regards to being barred from church premises. 

However, the paths to restoration in the two letters differ significantly. The church council called on the former youth pastor to “respond in a Christlike manner to the charges of criminal sexual conduct against you.” It also noted the active criminal case against him.

As for Michael Gatlin, the church’s former lead pastor for 25 years, and his wife, Brenda, the church council said that they must participate in additional fact-finding, specifically an interview with GRACE, at the Gatlins’ expense.

The church council also called on the couple to provide evidence of demonstrated repentance and make amends to the local community with specific apologies and commitments.

In February, Brenda Gatlin resigned as super regional leader for Vineyard USA, while Michael resigned as a Trustee from the Vineyard USA Board and from the Board of Vineyard Worship.

Leaders of Vineyard USA respondió to the GRACE report on Nov. 23, calling the allegations “serious and grievous.”

The denomination’s statement also addressed alleged victims, saying: “We continue to pray that you experience comfort, healing, and peace . . . We pray that justice will prevail.”

GRACE report details Jackson Gatlin’s alleged abuse

The report by GRACE chronicles a pattern of alleged sexual misconduct and abuse of authority by Jackson Gatlin as a church leader and pastor.

As part of its investigation, GRACE interviewed 34 people including church staff, members, and others formerly associated with Duluth Vineyard. 

Investigators did not interview the five alleged victims, due to the ongoing criminal investigation. However, the criminal charges are noted in the report and several associates of alleged victims corroborate Gatlin’s criminal sexual misconduct. 

In one section, the report recounts how Jackson Gatlin was employed from 2017 to 2022 as the Director of the Heroic Leadership Institute (HLI) at Duluth Vineyard, a gap-year leadership development program. HLI typically had under 10 students enrolled, who were allegedly in close quarters with Gatlin for 12 hours a day at the church campus. 

Gatlin engaged in “full frontal hugs” with some of the female students, the report states. He often disclosed details of his sex life to students. One account notes him being “tempted to watch pornography the night before” and recounting to students that he asked his wife to pray for him.

He also reportedly insisted that HLI students disclose intimate details and then shamed them. One young woman, denoted as Leslie, said Gatlin insisted on “hearing everything.” It states: “When she disclosed a struggle with lust, Jackson reportedly debased her for it.”

According to court documents, the church’s youth pastor at the time spoke to police investigators earlier this year. That man said Jackson Gatlin was “not subject to (the) vetting process” of other youth and young adult leaders, which included a background check and training. 

In June 2022, the church promoted Gatlin to young adult and online community pastor. He was suspended five months later, in December, when reports of past misconduct emerged.

GRACE report says minister parents are complicit

Though Michael and Brenda Gatlin maintained they didn’t know about their son’s alleged abuse, the GRACE report found differently.

On February 20, Michael Gatlin wrote to the church council: “Let me state unequivocally, to the best of our recollection, neither Brenda nor I were ever informed of any allegations of sexual misconduct concerning our son, Jackson Gatlin, from anyone at anytime.”

However, according to the GRACE report, one former graduate of the HLI program emailed Michael and Brenda Gatlin in 2019 with an attached 56-page complaint letter.

It described “behavior constituting sexual harassment under Duluth Vineyard’s policies, harsh and unkind treatment, and spiritual abuse,” according to a church summary. 

Michael and Brenda Gatlin allegedly took no investigative or disciplinary actions based on that letter and did not share it with the Duluth Vineyard church council.

de acuerdo a su sitio web, Duluth Vineyard has had a Nepotism Policy in place since 2015, which bars church staff from overseeing relatives. However, on four separate occasions, the church council approved exceptions to this policy for Jackson Gatlin’s parents to oversee him.

In an earlier statement, the church señalado that the statute of limitations “prevents criminal charges from being brought against Michael and Brenda Gatlin for failure to report suspected child abuse.” 

An omnibus hearing in Jackson Gatlin’s criminal case, with Judge Dale Harris presiding, has been scheduled for January 11, 2024, at the St. Louis County District Court in Duluth.

Periodista independiente Josh Shepherd escribe sobre fe, cultura y políticas públicas para varios medios outlets. He and his family live in the Washington, D.C. area.