Not long after announcing their vision for a new church plant in late August, James Morris (son of disgraced Pastor Robert Morris) and James’ wife Bridgette Morris shared that the name for the church will be Passage Church.
James and Bridgette Morris resigned from Gateway Church in July, a month after James’ father resigned as the senior pastor following the allegations Robert sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.
James had been slated to be his father’s successor in the pulpit next year and claims he and his wife knew nothing about Robert’s history of sexual of abuse until Cindy Clemishire, Robert’s accuser, went public with her testimony in June. The couple stated that they later resigned following the “advice of many well-respected pastors and ministry leaders.”
Robert Morris’ Son, James, and Bridgette Morris Share Name of New Church Plant
“Thank you for praying with and for us,” James and Bridgette said in an email sent to their church plant supporters. “We have spent the past few weeks praying and seeking the Lord, and we feel like God has confirmed the name through multiple scriptures and people. The name is Passage Church!”
RELATED: James and Bridgette Morris Resign From Gateway Church; Max Lucado To Become Interim Teaching Pastor
Posting also on social media, they explained that the meaning behind the name Passage Church is “twofold.”
“First, ‘Passage’ is another word for scripture. We believe in the authority and power of the Holy Scriptures, the Bible,” said the Morrises. “Passage Church is founded on the Word of God and will be a place where people are taught the Word of God.”
“Second,” they added that Passage is “another word for making a journey from one place to another. Passage Church is on the move and filled with people pursuing God in every season.” Everyone’s life is “filled with transitions and journeys,” and the new church plant “will be a place that helps people no matter what stage of their journey” and which points them in the direction of “Jesus and a relationship with God.”
“Jesus said in John 10:9, ‘I am the door.’ Another word for door is passage. We must remember that Jesus Christ is our passage,” the couple said.
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