A generation of young people have been let down – and not just by Mike Pilavachi

As the Scolding Report reveals institutional failings and warns of a culture of silence, Andrew Graystone says it’s time for church leaders to speak to those who have been hurt by Soul Survivor and its founder’s actions

When the scandal surrounding Mike Pilavachi, founder of Soul Survivor, started to emerge into the public eye in April 2023, it was because a small number of people found the courage to speak about their experiences to the secular media. Some had suffered directly at the hands of Pilavachi.

One of the horrific themes to emerge from the independent review into the culture and practices of Soul Survivor, conducted by barristers Fiona Scolding KC and Ben Fullbrook, is that very senior figures in Soul Survivor festival, the church in Watford and the wider Church of England had been told about Pilavachi’s inappropriate behaviour as long ago as 2004, but failed to stop him.

In their documentary, Let There be Light, worship leader Matt Redman and his wife Beth recalled approaching a “senior leader” at a church in London, only to be told: “That’s just Mike: nothing will be done.” Shortly after the Redmans spoke out, brothers Tim and Pete Hughes, both prominent church leaders who were also part of Pilavachi’s youth group, released a statement on social media. When they had raised concerns regarding Pilavachi’s behaviour with Soul Survivor trustees in 2004, their “concerns were not taken seriously”, they said, and relationships soon broke down.

Read here (£)

Archive