Statements from David Johnson and Jack Marslender

 

Statements Regarding the SATF Report

The Southern Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force released a report containing the findings of Guidepost Solutions’ investigation on May 22. David Johnson, Arizona Southern Baptist Mission Network executive director, and Jack Marslender, Mission Network president, both issued statements following the report’s release.

Pastor Jack Marslender

Avondale Baptist Church Senior Pastor

Arizona Southern Baptist Mission Network President

Arizona Southern Baptists,
In response to the report on sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention, I have appointed a team (Sexual Abuse Response Team) to review the proposed recommendations from Guidepost Solutions. I’m asking the team to report to our annual convention in November with specific recommendations on what our Arizona network can do to make sure that we have the necessary tools and procedures to protect our children, members, and attenders.
I ask you to pray for the team. They have an important task and a short turnaround time. We want to be able to move forward with great confidence, knowing that we have done everything possible to make sure that our churches are safe and protected.
Here are the team members:
Ashley Evans will lead the team. He is the previous ASBC president and has been the pastor of 22nd Street Baptist Church in Tucson for over 10 years. He is a big believer in church planting. He has worked with SEND Network for the past few years to train new church planters across Arizona as well as in New Mexico and Nevada.
Lauren Belcher is the Northern Region Program Administrator for Arizona Baptist Children's Services and attends Challenge Church in Flagstaff. She has worked with traumatized children and families for 12 years. She and her husband have adopted 4 children through the foster care system and are parents to two biological daughters as well.
Lynn Coppola, MD, is an obstetrician/gynecologist and attends Mountain View Baptist Church in Tucson. Apart from expertise in working with women who have been victims of abuse, she has a special interest in equipping local churches with the tools to effectively respond to allegations of abuse.
Karla Cox is a stay-at-home mom who attends Mercy Hill Church, a multi-ethnic downtown church in Phoenix, where she serves with her husband, Anthony, and enjoys ministry to women. She is currently working on a Biblical Counseling certification and serves as a Spouse Care advocate for church planting wives for the SEND Network.
Amy Medley is the Ministry Assistant for the Church Life Team of the Arizona Southern Baptist Mission Network. She attends Avondale Baptist Church and is in the process of obtaining a Master's Degree in Clinical Counseling through Wayland Baptist University.
Chad Murrell is the lead pastor at First Southern Baptist Church of Scottsdale and Arizona Southern Baptist Mission Network Zona Camp Director. Chad has served with churches and teenagers for almost 25 years and has a passion to reach every generation with the life-changing hope of Jesus.
Dan Snead is a retired financial industry executive with experience in insurance, security, safety, crisis response, and investigations. Dan has been an active member at North Phoenix Baptist Church for 46 years. He has helped develop and improve a variety of bylaws, policies and procedures, including security, abuse prevention, and crisis response.
Robert (Bob) Van Horn is the Lead Pastor at Real Life Church in Yuma and has been on the staff since retiring from the United States Maine Corps in 2004. His wife, Sheryl, is the Program Director for Arizona Baptist Children’s Services in Yuma. Bob has assisted in developing policy and procedures for “protection of minors in a ministry environment.”
Summer Nowak will serve as a consultant to the team. She is the Director of Abuse Prevention and Response Administration for the International Mission Board and has held that role since its inception in 2020. Prior to that, she and her family served overseas with the IMB in East Asia. She also has experience in counseling and child forensic interviewing.
David Johnson (Executive Director) and Jack Marslender (President) will also meet with the team.

 

David Johnson

Arizona Southern Baptist Mission Network Executive Director

While Arizona does not appear in the report released Sunday, May 22, by the Southern Baptist Convention Sexual Abuse Task Force, we grieve over the reports of sexual abuse that have taken place in SBC churches, institutions, and entities over the past 20 or more years. We are saddened by the conduct of our leaders, and our hearts are broken for the victims and their families.

The Arizona Southern Baptist Convention stands against sexual abuse of any kind and has posted policies and procedures for our churches to follow to aid in preventing this type of behavior in our churches and among our leaders. Resources for churches are available at azsbc.org/caring-well/.

We recognize the gravity of the recommendations made by Guidepost and the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force, and we commit to continue working toward making our churches and convention a safe place to be.

 

Pastor Jack Marslender

Avondale Baptist Church Senior Pastor

Arizona Southern Baptist Mission Network President

I was deeply dismayed and disappointed to read the recent report on sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. I went through the full range of emotions from disbelief to anger to frustration to a deep sadness—and ultimately to the commitment that we cannot just read the report and move forward without doing all that we can to make the necessary changes. Though I was pleased to note that nothing in the report implicated anyone from our own state, I am not naïve enough to believe that it doesn’t and hasn’t happened here.

We need to do better. We can no longer afford to use Baptist polity as an excuse. We can no longer let the fear of lawsuits keep us from doing a better job of loving and protecting our children and all who attend our churches.

As a result, I am appointing a team (Sexual Abuse Response Team) to review the report with particular attention to the proposed recommendations from Guidepost Solutions. I’m asking the team to report to our annual convention in November with specific recommendations on what our own network can do to make sure that our churches have the necessary tools and procedures to protect our members and attenders.

Within a few days, I will announce the team members who have agreed to serve so that you can send to them your questions and comments. I ask you to pray for them. I have asked them to take on a big job with a relatively quick turnaround time so that, as churches and as a convention, we can work together to move forward with confidence in carrying out the Great Commission.

I thank all of you for your hard work and for your prayers as this team begins this work. In the meantime, I pray God’s blessings on your church.

 

View the Report

You can view updates from the Task Force at sataskforce.net/ and access the full report on their downloads page.

Reporting Abuse

If you are/have been a victim of sexual abuse or suspect sexual abuse by a pastor, staff member or member of a Southern Baptist church or entity, please reach out for help at 202-864-5578 or SBChotline@guidepostsolutions.com. All calls are confidential.

Jack Marslender

Jack Marslender

President

Staff Headshots

David Johnson

Executive Director