Formerly serving as the Senior Pastor at the Grace Church of the Islands in Savannah, Georgia, Brad Waller once held this position. However, after he acknowledged giving adolescents and men in the congregation foot massages that were considered “sexual,” he was removed from his position in the church.
The allegations were brought to light after a college student disclosed to his campus minister in February of this past year his “uncomfortable” experiences with Waller. This resulted in the local presbytery, which is a governing body over local Presbyterian churches, conducting an enquiry that lasted for several months and eventually uncovered several further allegations.
One of the allegations was made by Associate Pastor Charlie Turner, who stated that he and his son, who was 12 years old at the time, had engaged in “couch time” with Waller.
At first, it was a little strange and unpleasant, but he was a bit touchy-feely, so I put up with these things that irritated me because it was vital for my wife, family, and me to have a church where we could be comfortable. “At first, it was a little weird and awkward,” Turner said.
Waller confessed during a meeting of the local church governing council in April, which was the culmination of the enquiry that had been going on.
It is my confession that I, Brad Waller, have sinned abusing authority in my capacity as a pastor. I’ve been rubbing the feet of the young people and men who are under my care. Even though there was a sexual component to this, the physical interaction never went beyond caressing the feet.
The decision to withdraw his ordination was made during that meeting.
Since that time, additional victims have come forward, some of whom were residents of churches in which Waller had previously worked.
The Senior Pastor of Tates Creek Presbyterian Church in Kentucky, where Waller worked from 1995 to 2006, Robert Cunningham, asked his congregation if anyone had a similar tale regarding Waller, and ten victims came forward to share their experiences.
“The most consistent and common stories were of Brad rubbing the feet of high school and college students (all male) during private counselling and mentoring sessions,” Cunningham stated in a statement. “These students were all male.” “This occurred far too frequently to count, and one of the victims told us that he cannot recall ever having a meeting with Brad in which Brad did not rub his feet during the encounter.”
An NBC affiliate, LEX18, was the target of a victim’s description of what took place. “I woke up to find Brad’s face moving against my feet,” the victim stated. “We were camping on a youth event,” the victim added. “When I awoke, he pretended that he had not committed the crime,” I said.
In addition, the victim stated that Waller attempted to enlist young guys to participate in the production of videos that included their feet and that he claimed were for the youth organisation.
In April, Grace Church of the Islands submitted a complaint to the Chatham County Police Department. The report contained information about three of the victims, two of whom defined their encounters as “sexual assault.” The police have declined to comment on the enquiry that is now underway.
In his statement, Cunningham stated that there is “evidence” that the abuse extended “beyond foot rubbing,” although he did not disclose any specifics about the subject matter.
It is said on Waller’s Facebook profile that he has been married to Leslie Coggins Waller for twenty-five years, and the couple has three children together.
Is It Just a Massage?
A pastor in the United Kingdom called me a couple of years ago and informed me that several prominent officials in the Anglican Church had engaged in nude massage sessions with younger pastors and seminary students. He added that these sessions were held in the presence of certain individuals. I am unable to divulge the names that he mentioned because this pastor is concerned for the future of his job in the United Kingdom. I am able to guarantee that this particular style of massage was not merely some “locker room” humour, which is what my previous Baptist church referred to as incidents of this nature.
Church-based grooming of adolescents in the United States
A great number of parents are overjoyed whenever a celebrity or a young leader pays attention to their adolescent child. The majority of parents used to look for young people to emulate within the context of the church, which was considered to be a “safe” environment. If you had asked me if I would have wanted such a connection for my children back in the 1990s and OOs, I would have been inclined to answer, “It sounds lovely.” I would have done so if you had asked me. Dee came of age in the year 2005, and it was at this time that she became aware of the amount of molesters and paedophiles who had infiltrated the Protestant evangelical church.
As a cautionary note, please read the following post. It is time for everyone of us to become more intelligent. There is a threat to the lives of children, teenagers, and students attending Anglican seminaries in the United Kingdom.
In collaboration with the Tates Creek Presbyterian Church (TCPC), Brad Waller
In the past, I have expressed my admiration for the manner in which this church handled the crisis that occurred in 2018.
This letter was written by Robert Cunningham and dated Sunday, June 24, 2018, and it addresses our past.
Between the years 1995 and 2006, Brad Waller served as a minister at Tates Creek Presbyterian Church (TCPC). During that time, his principal responsibilities included leading the ministries that were geared towards college students and young adults. TCPC has seen significant growth and transformation in a variety of ways since Brad’s departure, and the vast majority of our congregation has never heard of or been familiar with him. However, there are still some members of our congregation, as well as others in the Lexington region and beyond, who knew him as a cherished pastor and a guide.
After leaving TCPC 12 years ago, he served for a very brief time at Twin Oaks Presbyterian in St. Louis, and then moved to Savannah, GA, where he was an Assistant Pastor at Independent Presbyterian Church and then Senior Pastor at Grace Church of the Islands.
At the beginning of this year, a student at Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD) came forward to alert his campus pastor about an encounter he had with Brad that had left him feeling extremely uneasy. After doing follow-up interviews with other students at SCAD, this campus minister found out that other students had also experienced similar things. It was reported to the Savannah River Presbytery (in the Presbyterian Church, a “presbytery” is the governing body over local churches), and this began a process of investigation and discipline that culminated in a meeting of the Presbytery on April 17.
As you will see, Brad got sexually stimulated by rubbing the feet of young people.
At the presbytery meeting, Brad made the following confession that has since been made public record: “I, Brad Waller, confess to the sin of abuse of authority in my role as a pastor. I’ve been rubbing the feet of the young people and men who are under my care. In spite of the fact that there was a sexual component to this, the physical interaction never went beyond rubbing the feet.
The Presbytery voted at the same meeting to immediately depose him from his office (remove his ordination) as a minister. To quote the statement made by the Presbytery:
“At the April Stated Meeting of Presbytery at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Martinez, on Tuesday April 17, the Savannah River Presbytery voted to depose Brad Waller from Gospel ministry, for the abuse of power against minors and young men under his care, for the purpose of auto-erotic stimulation derived from foot rubbing, to which he confessed before the court [presbytery].”
Brad was removed from ministry, and more stories of his predilections arose. You can read about the careful response of this church by reading the entire letter. They also reported this to the police.
Investigations conducted by the TCPC, Brad Waller, Chris Rice, and another GRACE case
Chris Rice is accused of sexual misconduct, according to a report that was published in Christianity Today.
It was revealed by three men that Christian artist Chris Rice took advantage of a culture within youth ministry that normalised massages and sleepovers in order to groom them when they were teenagers. This occurred more than twenty years ago.
Where did this all take place? When Brad Waller was working at TCPC, the organisation was active.
Rice made his debut in the country music arena with the Christmas song “Welcome to Our World.” His debut album, Deep Enough to Dream, which was released in 1997, was nominated for six Dove awards throughout the year. He had a substantial friendship with Brad Waller, a former pastor at Tates Creek who was the focus of an investigation conducted by GRACE in the 2018–2019 academic year.
This GRACE report, which was published on June 21, 2022, can be seen using the link provided here.
Waller stated that there was a sexual component to his behaviour, which included massaging the feet of kids. He had a pattern of doing this. During the year 2020, the church issued a statement in which it stated that the singer’s association with Waller made it possible for Rice to cultivate close relationships with several students at Tates Creek.
Rice was the subject of complaints that were brought forth by a former student as a result of the investigation conducted by Waller, and the church initiated a second investigation.
Let’s pay attention to the behaviour that Chris Rice is allegedly exhibiting. You will see how these individuals are able to influence our children and teenagers.
In his capacity as a spiritual and worship leader, Chris Rice was asked to assist with retreats and was invited to do so. Their admiration for him was profound. The vast majority of us are now aware of the power imbalance that exists in this circumstance. According to the evidence, Rice took advantage of this situation.
Victim # 1:
The former student described how Rice who was in his late 30s at the time would have them give each other back massages. He said he and Rice shared a bed during church retreats and his solo visits to Rice’s home in Nashville. The teen disclosed to Rice about his struggles with porn. By the time the former student was 17 or 18, Rice also began massaging his thighs, touching his crotch, and putting his hand down the student’s boxer shorts on multiple occasions.
Victim #2
Immediately following their graduation from high school, Rice invited another student to spend the night at his house for a week. Both of them slept inside a tent during their stay. According to him, Rice would grasp his thighs in a manner that made him feel uneasy and would ask to examine his back muscles.
Victim #3
In order to have one-on-one chats and spend time together, Rice actively sought him out. In the past, the student considered their interactions to be a “bromance,” but now, with the benefit of hindsight, he sees the behaviours as grooming behaviours. Rice fell asleep lying on him as they were on the bus.
What Makes the Church Scandals Cases Impossible to Overlook
Financial Fraud: House of Prayer Christian Church
- The House of Prayer Christian Church, based in Hinesville, was alleged to have defrauded over 500 veterans, receiving approximately $22 million in GI Bill benefits between 2013 and 2022 through its seminary programs.
- Investigators reported that around $7 million of that funding was received since 2013 by its educational subsidiary, which failed to grant degrees or proper certification to students.
Sexual Abuse: Catholic Dioceses in Georgia
- A review of historic records by the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia revealed 28 credible allegations of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and Diocese of Savannah, dating from the 1940s through early 2000s.
- The Diocese of Savannah paid a total of $50,000 in 2004 to settle claims involving six priests. In 2009, it settled a case for $4.24 million, and in 2016 another for $4.5 million, with prosecution barred due to the statute of limitations.
Broader Context
- Nationwide data shows 28 Catholic priests in Georgia have been credibly accused of sexual abuse, matching the state-level figure cited above.
In Georgia, recent church-related scandals have revealed both financial exploitation and historic sexual abuse within religious institutions. One major case involved the defrauding of approximately 500 U.S. military veterans, in which the House of Prayer Christian Church allegedly misused $22 million in GI Bill education funds between 2013 and 2022. Of that amount, around $7 million was funneled through a seminary program that failed to provide proper credentials or degrees, leaving veterans without recognized educational outcomes.
In addition to financial misconduct, Georgia’s Catholic dioceses have faced serious allegations of sexual abuse. Investigations uncovered 28 credible accusations of child sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests between the 1940s and early 2000s.
These cases, while often outside the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution, led to several civil settlements: $50,000 in 2004, $4.24 million in 2009, and $4.5 million in 2016. These figures underscore long-standing systemic issues within faith institutions and the ongoing need for accountability, transparency, and victim support.
These figures emphasize the two distinct yet serious issues facing Georgia’s faith institutions: systematic financial exploitation of vulnerable veterans and a history of child sexual abuse by clergy under protective church systems. Both challenges highlight urgent needs for oversight, accountability, and survivor support.
