ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) – The first and solely Black pastor of the Hillsong megachurch in Atlanta is stepping down after a founding father of the worldwide church was caught up in a serious intercourse scandal.

Now, the native Black pastor there needs to distance himself from the worldwide megachurch and its founder.

CBS46 spoke one-on-one with the native pastor proper earlier than he took middle stage for his final Sunday service in entrance of his Hillsong Church congregation.

“The bitter piece is just, you feel like you are losing family,” mentioned Sam Collier.

Collier is the primary and solely Black pastor on the earth ever appointed to the Hillsong International Church. For the final yr, he has been constructing a Hillsong Christian nondenominational chapter in Atlanta, however he says it wasn’t what he imagined.

“When me and my wife got announced as the first African American couple in the Hillsong world, a week after that, Hillsong New York happened with the call ins, so for about a year and a half it was just non-stop media,” mentioned Collier.

Now, a brand new Hillsong scandal is within the media highlight as soon as once more. This time, the founding father of the megachurch, Brian Houston, is going through misconduct allegations involving two girls.

In a press release, “The church confirmed that the founder admitted to sending inappropriate text messages to female staffers while on sleeping pills 10 years ago, and in 2019, an in-depth church investigation also revealed that following a church convention the founder mixed prescription drugs with alcohol, accidentally knocked on the wrong hotel room, and spent time with the female guest in the room.”

“It was a sad moment, it was an emotional moment,” Collier mentioned.

Blindsided and upset by the information, Collier determined the perfect determination for him and his church congregation can be to chop ties with the Hillsong megachurch department. He stepped down as pastor this week.

“We had so many congregants saying I don’t know if I can trust this place,” Collier defined.

He held his final Sunday service beneath the Hillsong department Sunday at Center Stage Theater in Midtown.

“We realize, you know, that it might be better to replant a new place that people can believe in and trust in,” mentioned Collier.

Now, despite the fact that this was the final time that Collier’s congregation would meet beneath the Hillsong department, he says a brand new church goes to be born. They’re going to be referred to as Story Church they usually’re going to be assembly this Easter Sunday.

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