Epic Church KC in Blue Springs has placed Lead Pastor Bobby Hawk on leave as it investigates charges of sexual misconduct made against him.
“Our board of directors has been working diligently for the past 36 hours since allegations were made against our Lead Pastor Bobby Hawk,” the church posted on its website. “The staff has been asked to refrain from engaging in social media or with the news media as we work through the details of this challenging situation. The board of directors has met independently and placed Pastor Bobby Hawk on leave pending further review.”
Earlier this week, he Blue Springs School District announced the resignation of Hawk as school board president following claims he behaved inappropriately with a young girl.
Woman who brought allegations against Kansas City Pastor Bobby Hawk explains why she did. @CKnuteKSHB reports:https://t.co/P4xgHhhu56
— KSHB 41 News (@KSHB41) June 20, 2024
“The Blue Springs Board of Education is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and trust in our leadership. It is with a profound sense of responsibility and commitment to transparency that we acknowledge the recent allegations concerning Board President Dr. Bobby Hawk,” the school district said in a statement.
Two victims reached out to Fox4 News, accusing Hawk of sexual misconduct, including one victim who says she was 12 years old at the time. “He would hug me frequently and wrap his arm around me more often,” said Izzy Davis, who is now a college student.
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Davis said she was 12 years old when Hawk assaulted her at a gathering at his home. She went to Blue Springs Police this week, detailing an incident from 12 years ago. In a blog post, Davis wrote about two occasions where Hawk forced her to hold his hand as if they were dating, and then he allegedly put both hands underneath his thigh for the entire length of a movie. Davis’ blog post accuses Hawk of grooming her for the future. “I just immediately felt horrible,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Ali Terwilliger said she was a 22-year-old church volunteer in 2011. On one occasion, Hawk intentionally touched her rear end, and he frequently talked about wanting a sexual relationship with her. Terwilliger said she knew Davis, and her testimony inspired her to speak out. She said she complained to Epic Church leadership, but eventually, she chose to leave the church.
“It definitely is not an environment, at least it was not at that time, an environment where they were helping victims,” she said. “It was more of trying to cover up what was going on with the pastor.”
Epic Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God. Don Miller, who leads the Southern Missouri Ministry Network, said leaders with that denomination are aware of the allegations against Hawk.
“When allegations toward a minister arise, we take those matters very seriously and we have a well-established process in addressing them,” he said. “We are following these guidelines to properly investigate these allegations.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice