Tony Johnson, lead pastor of the multi-campus 2|42 Community Church in Michigan, said he and his staff wept for days after learning that their former worship pastor had violated their trust by setting up a hidden camera inside a “unisex” bathroom at one of their seven campuses.
“This has been a violation of our trust. It’s a violation of the call that God has upon us to help people take next steps with God. This is an assault upon the entire church. It’s a betrayal of the trust that I put in him. And it’s a betrayal of the trust that you put in us,” Johnson said in a message to his congregation Sunday. “Over the past 20 or 48 hours. Myself (sic), along with our staff have shed more tears than we thought possible. We have prayed harder and more fervently than we ever have because you deserve better.”
Will Johnson, 37, the former worship pastor director of the Brighton campus of 2|42 Community Church, was arrested Friday after reportedly placing the camera inside the gender-neutral bathroom in the church’s backstage area.
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Johnson was arraigned on Sunday in the 53rd District Court on charges of surveilling an unclothed person, destruction of evidence, and use of a computer to commit a crime. He is being held on a $250,000 cash bond pending his next court hearing on Sept. 24.
The investigation remains ongoing but Craig Ryan, chairman of 2|42 Community Church’s leadership advisory team, also known as their elder board, told members that after the hidden video camera was found in the “unisex” bathroom, Johnson confessed that the camera belonged to him, and he was fired “immediately.”
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we must share with you some very disturbing news. On Friday, September 13th, Church leadership was informed that a staff member here at 2|42 Community Church discovered a hidden video camera located inside a unisex bathroom in the backstage area of our Brighton campus,” Ryan revealed.
“Will Johnson, our former worship pastor director, confessed to church leadership that he placed the camera in that location, and he was immediately terminated. Church leadership quickly notified the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office who arrested Johnson Friday evening. At this time, we’re not aware of the full scope of this crime, but we are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.”
Ryan said the church searched their facilities for other hidden recording devices after Johnson’s confession and plans to use a professional service to continue doing sweeps, but there is no indication that Johnson was recording anywhere else except the unisex bathroom.
“Just like you, we’re shocked, and we’re deeply saddened by this situation as the protection, safety and privacy of every person who enters our church is our priority. Our commitment to you is to be fully transparent and care for all the victims of this crime,” Ryan said.
It was unclear Wednesday if the church only has one gender-neutral bathroom, and why they have one since, according to the Kaempf Law Firm PC, churches “have a First Amendment right” not to have a gender-neutral bathroom.
Officials at the church did not immediately respond to The Christian Post when asked for comment on their bathroom policy Wednesday.
Pastor Tony Johnson apologized profusely to his congregation Sunday for the “evil” that visited the church and described it as an attack from the “enemy.”
“I am heartbroken. I am saddened. And I am infuriated. I love this church. It is my job and the job of our staff to protect not just the church but every individual that walks through these doors,” he said.
“Your families deserve better. Your community deserves better. I have seen firsthand how the Holy Spirit has been on the move at 2|42. How lives have changed and transformed how things have happened that we have stood back and looked and said that this had nothing to do with staff. It was because of the presence of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
“Because God is on the move at 2|42 and when God is on the move, the enemy attacks. We knew this. We were prepared for this. We just did not know the attack would be like this.”
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