A0085485 / 1
November 2, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From New Life Church
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Ted Haggard, Senior Pastor of New Life Church, stated today that he could "not
continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio this
morning." He, therefore, placed himself on administrative leave, pending investigation, spiritual
counsel, and a decision by the church's board of overseers. Pastor Haggard said, "I am
voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed
with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the
interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
Under the governing structure of New Life Church, there is a board of overseers
consisting of four senior pastors of other congregations. Those overseers have authority to
conduct an inquiry, to discipline the senior pastor, to remove him from his position, or to restore
him to ministry. The overseers of New Life Church are: Rev. Larry Stockstill, Senior Pastor of
Bethany World Prayer Center, in Baker, Louisiana; Rev. Mark Cowart, Senior Pastor of Church
For All Nations in Colorado Springs; Rev. Tim Ralph, Senior Pastor of New Covenant
Fellowship in Larkspur, Colorado; and Rev. Michael Ware, Senior Pastor of Victory Church in
Westminister, Colorado.
In the interim, New Life Church Associate Senior Pastor, Rev. Ross Parsley, will serve as
Acting Senior Pastor of the church. Rev. Parsley has served in senior ministry positions at New
Life Church for fifteen years. Rev. Parsley requested the community's compassion and prayers
for the person who came forward with accusations, for the Haggard family, and for the New Life
Church community. He also said, "New Life Church long ago adopted an overseer model of
governance for situations just like this. People need to be patient and allow this process to
unfold as it was designed to do."
Pastor Haggard also resigned today as President of the National Association of
Evangelicals.
http://www.newlifechurch.org/nlcpressrelease110206.pdfhttp://www.tedhaggard.com/bio.jspPastor Ted Haggard is the president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the largest evangelical group in America. He is also founder and senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He formed and serves as the president of both the Association of Life-Giving Churches, a network of local churches, and worldprayerteam.org, the only real-time global prayer network.
Pastor Ted has been interviewed by Barbara Walters, Tom Brokaw, Bill O’Reilly, Chris Matthews, and more. Time included Pastor Ted in their list of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America. Harper’s says, “No pastor in America holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism than does Pastor Ted.”
He graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1978 and has received two honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees. He served as the American Vice-President for World Missions for Jesus, a German missions organization, and served as an Associate Pastor at Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which helped him plant New Life Church in 1985. Haggard and his wife, Gayle, have five children.
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