Former Bellevue Baptist pastor arrested in Arkansas on abuse of minor charge
Police in Bentonville, Arkansas, arrested a former student pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church on one charge of sexual indecency with a child.
Bellevue announced Thursday evening it was launching an internal review into the former student pastor, Keenan Hord, who worked at one of the church's satellite campuses until 2016, according to an email to Bellevue's congregation the Commercial Appeal obtained and verified with Bellevue spokesperson Noah Sidhom.
Bellevue, based in Cordova and a prominent Southern Baptist church pastored by Steve Gaines, a former Southern Baptist Convention president, has faced criticism in lawsuits and a recent investigative report for how leaders have handled sexual abuse allegations in the past.
It's one of the largest churches in the Memphis area with an average Sunday attendance of about 8,000.
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Sidhom said Bellevue emailed its congregation after the church was notified by First Baptist Church Bentonville of an arrest warrant for the 32-year-old Hord. Shortly after, Hord was arrested, according to police records.
Hord has worked at FBC Bentonville since 2016 as an area manager, according to Hord's LinkedIn.
"We have been devastated to learn that a former employee of our church has been credibly accused of abusing adolescents during his tenure at our church," FBC Bentonville said in a statement Friday afternoon. "We are ministering to the survivors and their families who demonstrated incredible courage in coming forward."
FBC Bentonville said they learned of the allegations after Hord's employment at the church ended, and that they immediately notified local law enforcement and the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline.
Bellevue Baptist encouraged its congregants to also report any information to church leadership.
"If you have any information regarding any criminal activity, please report it to the local police department," Bellevue said in its email Thursday evening. "If you or your child were affected by this, we want to help you navigate this difficult situation with access to professional counselors at no expense to you."
Hord was an intern in Bellevue's student ministry from 2011-2014 and then was the student pastor at Bellevue Arlington from 2014-2016.
Bellevue Baptist was named in a report in May by Guidepost Solutions, a third-party firm, containing the findings of a sexual abuse investigation into SBC leadership, including Gaines and other former SBC presidents like. Specifically, Guidepost called out Gaines "after he kept quiet for months" when the Bellevue pastor learned in 2006 about a sexual abuse incident at his church, Guidepost said in its report.
Since then, Gaines has acknowledged he mishandled the situation.
In June, after Guidepost's report came out and in a separate case, Bellevue settled with a teenage sexual abuse victim who sued the church and alleged it provided a space for her abuser to groom and abuse her.
Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Former Bellevue Baptist student pastor faces child sex abuse charge
