Vineyard USA believes Mr. Madearis presents an ongoing risk of misconduct, and strongly recommends that Mr. Medearis be removed and prohibited from any ministry activities until further communication from Vineyard USA. Mr. Medearis has been presented with a restoration plan and all reports to Vineyard USA indicate that has failed to fulfill the first and primary obligation: To cease his misconduct.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Robb Morgan, Managing Director for Vineyard USA (), or Bubba Justice, Missions Coordinator for Vineyard USA ().
In the meantime, please advise Vineyard USA if you become aware of any alleged misconduct by Mr. Medearis or any ministry opportunities in which he is involved or platformed. We remain committed to minimize any further harm that Mr. Medearis may cause. Please join us in our efforts.
November 3, 2023 Update
Vineyard USA (VUSA) has been made aware of continued and ongoing misconduct by Carl Medearis of the nature that was investigated by and reported on by GRACE in 2021. This includes at least six additional reports of inappropriate contact Vineyard USA received since the report was released. The most recent incident that has been reported occurred in Summer of 2023.
Some of the additional reporters indicate that their initial contact with Carl Medearis was a result of his work with a larger ministry organization. Vineyard USA has advised Mr. Medearis that our webpage has been updated to reflect these more recent reports and that we have solicited Executive Level contact information from individuals who are part of larger organizations with which Mr. Medearis may have worked in order to provide those organizations with updates for further safeguarding efforts.
If you are affiliated with any organization (such as a ministry, church or non-profit) to which Mr. Medearis ministered and believe that should be alerted to his continued misconduct, VUSA would welcome the contact information of Executive Level leadership within that organization so that we can offer updates in support of further safeguarding efforts.
Vineyard USA is committed to caring for reporting victims as well as developing systems of greater accountability for leaders and pastors. We continue to pray for those who have been hurt, harmed, mistreated, or in any way negatively impacted through their contact with Mr. Medearis. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Robb Morgan, Managing Director, Vineyard USA ().
May 31, 2022 Update
In October 2021, a report from GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) was released, outlining alleged clergy misconduct by Carl Medearis. This alleged misconduct took place in ministry contexts, over several years, involving multiple victims. We are deeply concerned because GRACE has notified us that more alleged victims have reached out to them since the initial report and asserted claims against Carl Medearis.
GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) conducted an independent investigation of these allegations and compiled a report concerning the alleged misconduct. Vineyard USA did not compile the report and has not edited the report and further believe that the alleged victims have not compiled or edited the report.
Today, we are coming to you with updated information regarding this serious situation. Since the initial report was released, more alleged victims have come forward and asserted claims against Carl Medearis. We do not know the nature, source, or timeline of these allegations, and GRACE has not yet investigated these allegations. However, we take all allegations of clergy misconduct with the utmost seriousness.
In addition, when the initial report was released, Vineyard USA was informed that The Springs Vineyard revoked all ministerial credentials that it had previously extended to Carl Medearis. Despite having these credentials revoked, we are informed that Carl has remained active in ministry, soliciting funds for future work. For these reasons, as well as others listed below, we find it vital to make a more public statement about this matter.
The Findings of the 2021 GRACE Report
Through the initial GRACE investigation, five women provided accounts of alleged clergy misconduct by Carl Medearis. The allegations were similar in context and nature, and many occurred over some form of social media platform. Significantly, none of these women indicated that they were aware of the identity or even existence of any other, either at the time they raised concerns or when interviewed by GRACE. You can see the initial communication from Vineyard USA here.
GRACE determined these allegations to be credible. These credible allegations include: 1) Carl exhibited grooming behavior, 2) Carl leveraged his position of spiritual authority and significant influence, and 3) Carl gaslit victims when confronted. The GRACE report also states that he engaged in a pattern of seemingly threatening behavior that appeared designed to intimidate, manipulate, and demand the silence of reported victims, concerned pastors, accountability partners, and Vineyard staff. Additionally, the GRACE report states that his obfuscation and deception raise serious concerns regarding his level of past and future truthfulness, and the probable efficacy of accountability measures. Finally, the GRACE report indicates that Carl Medearis himself admitted to some instances of this behavior, stating that “though Mr. Medearis’s credibility is unfavorable, he has conceded multiple instances that match the definition of clergy misconduct.”
Why We Are Further Addressing This Situation Now
There are three primary reasons we are coming forth with a more public statement now.
First, since the initial GRACE investigation concluded, there are additional women who have come forward with allegations against Carl Medearis. GRACE has not yet investigated these allegations. However, in order to protect all of the alleged victims, in addition to any potential future victims, we find it vital to share this information more widely.
Second, we believe Carl Medearis remains unrepentant. As stated in the GRACE report, “authentic repentance includes sincere and complete confession. Words should never be the sole proof of accepting an individual’s repentance, but words along with actions are part of repentance.” GRACE shares in the report that while Carl has consistently claimed repentance since 2018, “for the past three years Mr. Medearis demonstrated behavior inconsistent with repentance in a variety of ways, first and most obviously through his continued exploitation of vulnerable women, all while claiming restoration and attacking those who expressed concerns.” They go on in the report to outline six critical ways that he has remained unrepentant, according to biblical standards, up until the date of the report. We are not aware of any facts demonstrating that this has changed since the report.
Third, Carl Medearis is continuing in ministry, and soliciting leaders from Vineyard for financial support of these ministry endeavors. Vineyard USA has advised Carl to step away from ministry while pursuing healing, but he appears to have ignored this advice, choosing to continue ministry via other avenues, including organizing a Simply Jesus Gathering in June 2022, to be held on his ranch. We are informed that he has reached out to many individuals from the Vineyard, as well as to Vineyard churches for financial support. It should be noted here that while the Simply Jesus Gathering website (as of the date of this document) shows the likeness and content of many Vineyard leaders, Carl has refused the request by Vineyard USA and many of the various leaders who are portrayed for that content to be removed. We believe those images and the associated content are misleading and portray support by Vineyard leaders for Carl Medearis or the Simply Jesus Gathering. Carl Medearis does not have the support of Vineyard USA and we believe he also lacks the support of many of those leaders.
Because Carl Medearis has had a prolific ministry within the Vineyard in the United States and around the world, we want to inform each of you about this report. We find the evidence in the report, as well as the conclusions it draws, to be serious enough to warrant this clear statement. We especially want to make this statement to those who have interacted with Carl Medearis throughout the years in Vineyard contexts. We are continuing to work under the guidance and expertise of GRACE as we process any next steps in this situation.
To help mitigate the impact on the alleged victims, we intend to only issue the report to those who request it and when it is deemed important and/or necessary to give access to the report. If you would like more information or if you believe it is necessary for you to review this report, please reach out to and we will respond promptly.
Please consider this letter and the content of the report prior to inviting Carl Medearis to minister in your church, or at any event that you are hosting. We also ask you to consider this information prior to offering financial support to him of any kind.
Please continue to join us in prayer for those who may have been harmed by Carl, and all of those involved.
Sincerely,
Vineyard USA Communications
This statement is issued by Vineyard USA in collaboration with GRACE.
GRACE exists to empower Christian communities to recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse through training, safeguarding initiatives, independent investigations, organizational assessments, and consultations. Learn more