Worship leader Tim Hughes and his brother Pete, lead pastor at King’s X Church in London, have said they experienced wrestling and massages under the leadership of Mike Pilavachi.
The brothers joined the Soul Survivor movement founded by Pilavachi while still of their teens and Tim later became considered one of its worship pastors.
Pilavachi was investigated by the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team and compelled to step down after a variety of people got here forward last 12 months to allege inappropriate behaviour. The NST later concluded that concerns were substantiated.
The brothers confirmed that that they had spoken to the NST and an independent review being led by Fiona Scolding KC, and felt that it was now the suitable time to share their experiences more widely.
They said that Pilavachi had been a mentor and “spiritual father figure” to them, and that the journey to healing had been “extremely painful”.
“His influence, investment and teaching in our lives were significant,” they said.
“However, very similar to others, we also each experienced what we now know to be psychological and spiritual abuse by the hands of Mike Pilavachi.
“Whilst under his leadership we also experienced the wrestling and massages which have been well documented.
“These events have caused years of pain and confusion. Over the last 20 years, we have each been on journeys of healing from the abuse we experienced, through counselling, prayer ministry and a strategy of acknowledging the abuse and selecting to forgive.”
The brothers said they confronted Pilavachi in 2004 and reported their concerns to the Soul Survivor leadership but they were “not taken seriously”. They left the movement soon after.
They concluded their statement by saying they hoped for “a moment of healing and restoration”, and that the Church would “learn from the mistakes made to ensure that the Church to be a protected environment where everyone can flourish and thrive”.
Their joint statement was prompted by the discharge this week of ‘Let There Be Light’, a documentary by worship leader Matt Redman by which he says that under Pilavachi, he “was subjected to significant emotional, spiritual and physical abuse in a situation that I didn’t know easy methods to get out of”.
“I’ve spent years attempting to heal from that point. I’ve forgiven Mike, but I still feel the impact today,” said Redman.
