Religion · Statewide · VA · October 8, 2026
Investigation: Vineyard Pastor Sexually Abused Women Across Two States For Decades
A third-party investigation submitted to Vineyard USA on Feb. 8, 2026, found that pastor Denis Roy sexually abused multiple women over roughly two decades, according to The Roys Report. The 66-page report by the Stier Group documented abuse beginning in 2004 at Christian Assembly, a charismatic church in Vienna, Virginia, where Roy, then 34 and married, allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted a 26-year-old bookkeeper identified as "Rachel" over eight months. Church and oversight leaders at Vanguard Ministries learned of the abuse but allowed Roy to remain six more months before firing him, then recommissioned him after a one-year "restoration." Roy relocated to Brownsburg, Indiana, founding New Day Church, later the Brownsburg Vineyard. Investigators found additional victims among subordinates and congregants there, concluding his misconduct "went largely unchecked with little consequences." Roy was also convicted of theft from Goodwill in 2015. No criminal or civil charges have been filed related to the sexual abuse allegations. The investigation began after Rachel contacted Vineyard's abuse tip line in 2024.
Source: The Roys Report
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Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
This case shows how institutional leaders repeatedly prioritized a pastor's restoration over victims' safety, allowing a credibly accused abuser to resurface in a new state under a new church name with a clean reputation. Scripture commands that elders be held to a higher standard, not shielded by quiet restoration processes that function as cover. When oversight bodies treat predatory behavior as a private "affair" rather than sin requiring public accountability, they betray both victims and the congregations that trusted them. Christians should recognize that denominational affiliation and a pastor's public ministry are not guarantees of integrity, and that genuine repentance requires transparency, not a one-year timeout followed by silence.
Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. — 1 Timothy 5:19-20
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Every strategy in this chapter depends finally on a spiritual virtue that no governance document can supply. In the case studies of captured institutions, leadership usually failed not for lack of information but for fear of losing status. They feared being called bigots more than they feared compromising the truth.
— Chapter 17, “The Mandate of Courage”
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