Through an article in Christianity Today earlier this month, Westover staff became aware that well-known Christian apologist, Ravi Zacharias concealed sexual misconduct over many years. Zacharias spoke at Westover in November 2018 during our Fall Global Celebration. We invited him because of his vast experience sharing the gospel all over the world, also one of our core commitments as a church. Ravi Zacharias’ legacy  - one of defending the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping others do the same – appeared above reproach until his death last year. He built a large organization – Ravi Zacharias International Ministries with branches in several countries. He was able to evade the safeguards for moral conduct the organization had in place not only because he helped to craft and approve those safeguards, but also because the organization paid such deference to him.

Westover sincerely apologizes for inviting him to our pulpit and we have deleted his sermon from November 2018 from our website. We condemn the ways that he mistreated and objectified so many women, often using his faith and position to manipulate them. We are ashamed of how someone bearing the name of Christ to the world and to these women, brought abuse and hurt instead of love, care and blessing.

These very upsetting revelations about Zacharias show us that no one is immune from the seduction of sin. The desire of the enemy to pull us all into sin is very real and his goal to destroy our walk with God and our witness is relentless. We all need to be in relationships with other believers that provide accountability and transparency for our actions.

If you or someone you love has suffered from abuse of any kind, Westover has a private support group to minister to you.  Our pastoral staff is ready to talk or counsel if you need help or have questions.