Gateway Church announced Sunday that Pastor Daniel Floyd, founder of the multi-campus Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia, has been selected as the new senior pastor of the embattled megachurch based in Southlake, Texas.
The announcement comes nearly a year after founder Robert Morris resigned amid the revelation of child sex abuse allegations.
"I am pleased to announce to you today that our new senior pastor of Gateway Church will be Pastor Daniel Floyd," longtime Gateway Church elder Tra Willbanks told the congregation after highlighting a lengthy and meticulous search process to find a God-inspired leader who could help cast a fresh vision for the Texas megachurch.
"Throughout the process, we looked at a wide range of candidates and consulted with many other pastors in the body of Christ across the United States. And as I briefed you many weeks ago, we were seeking a senior pastor who could cast fresh vision for our church, who could feed the church spiritually, and who could steadily lead our church organization," Willbanks explained.
"We searched for a senior pastor who is an experienced preacher for our weekend services. And perhaps even more importantly we sought a senior pastor who will passionately work Monday through Friday with our church staff and volunteers to bring the word of God and the love of God to those in need."
Floyd, his wife Tammie, and their four children — Owen, 18, Faith, 15, Abigail, 8, and Jonas, 6 — impressed the Gateway team.
They founded Lifepoint Church in 2005 with just 50 people and grew that to five locations in Virginia, along with church plants in Kentucky and Arizona. They also founded Lifepoint College in 2016. Just over two months before the announcement, on March 16, Floyd preached a sermon at Gateway Church, during which he took time to introduce his family.
"Daniel and Tammie are passionate about the local church, developing leaders and reaching people far from God. They believe that church success is not measured by seating capacity but measured by its sending capacity. And in that spirit, they have taken great strides to see leaders deployed with ministry training through LifePoint College, which they founded in 2016," Willbanks explained.
Floyd holds a doctor of ministry from Southeastern University and two master's degrees from Liberty University. His wife is a graduate of Liberty University.
In a video greeting the church, the couple said they plan to transition to Texas over the summer ahead of the new school year.
"For us, this isn't just a new assignment; it's a sacred calling. Twenty years ago, we had the privilege of planting Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia. And it's been the honor of our lives to shepherd that community. So when we say this next season is a calling, we don't take that lightly, and we mean it with all of our hearts," Floyd said.
"Over the past five months, we've walked closely with the elders here at Gateway leaders. We deeply honor, and we are thankful for their wisdom, their time, their prayer, and their patience. We've also sought the counsel of godly mentors and spiritual oversight. But most importantly, we've leaned into the voice of the Holy Spirit, and with full confidence, we can say 'God has called us here.'"
The couple said they are passionate about "reaching those who are far from God with the life transforming message of the Gospel."
"We love the local church. We've given our lives to building the one thing that Jesus promised to build, and we believe with every fiber of our being that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it," he said. "We're passionate about developing the next generation of leaders. And we're passionate about helping every person become everything that God's called them to be."
Earlier this month, Morris appeared in Osage County Court, Oklahoma, to answer to multiple counts of child sex abuse.
The charges against the Gateway founder stem from allegations made by the now 54-year-old Cindy Clemishire last June that he sexually abused her over multiple years in the 1980s when he was a traveling evangelist, beginning when she was 12.
In March, Nic Lesmeister, Gateway Church's executive pastor of global outreach, reiterated in an address that Morris no longer has any formal ties to the church.
"Last November, our elders made it clear that we had drawn a bright line as a church, and we were moving forward," he said.
"And because we're moving forward, and Gateway is no longer involved in this legal matter, we won't be continuing to update you on the proceedings of the case, but we're continuing to pray for everybody that's involved and affected in this matter."
