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1 Timothy 5:19-20

Why Go Public?

Statement - Private to Public

We understand that there are more questions, confusion, and even anger towards our decision to release our public statement on June 11th and we expect some more of that with this website and the release of the YouTube videos. 

We didn't make the decision lightly and we hoped we could avoid it. We attempted to do this privately and made the CFC board aware of the abuse details documented on this website. It was grossly mishandled.

In many cases going public is not the answer and we recognize that social media is not a great forum, but it is what we are left with when other avenues have failed. We never would have gone public if it was just sexual sin. His admitted abuse and the protection of the abuser at the cost of the victims and whistleblowers puts this in a different context. After receiving counsel and prayer we realized we didn't have another choice.

Why staying private didn't work:
 

  • When the testimony of the abuse was shown, those who asked for an investigation were met with legal threats instead of continued open discussion
     

  • After admitting to sexual relationships with 5+ women and abuse of at least one, Steven Koko remained a voting board member which went against CFCs conflict of interest policy. This prevented his removal as two board members were against what was happening at the time. They both resigned after. Three of the current four board members watched the video of "Sara" and were part of the legal silencing. The fourth was a part of it too, but didn't see the video. 
     

  • Solomon Kepkey brought in Gary York to oversee Steven's restoration—not to guide the board or lead an investigation. But all of the sudden he was giving guidance to the board, helping Steven fight for his ministry, and was the leader of an "investigation". He is the business owner of a transport consulting company, not a trauma informed, unbiased investigator. It was very inappropriate and not the investigation being requested. This is why the one victim whom Gary reached out to did not respond. He had clearly positioned himself as trying to help Steven Koko, not to find out the truth and act accordingly. It hurt the women instead of help them.  
     

  • The board was told of 2 women. Now there is a third. We believe there are more. We believe that handing the board more information privately will continue to result in the twisting of the narrative in a way that discredits the women's stories as was our experience the first time.
     

  • We highly question the effectiveness of Steven Koko's restoration period for many reasons, but ultimately his public post reveals it didn't do any more than the multiple attempts previously. We believe restoration involves transparency and humility, not cover ups and continued questionable behavior. He needs real help for any hope of him not repeating in his patterns. Any disbelief of that is naive and foolish.
     

  • After Steven Koko brought in a mediator (Torben)  that both sides agreed to in hopes to move forward without releasing anything more publicly, he removed him. In our opinion, it was because he wasn't able to control him and was telling Steven to step out of ministry permanently and that his board was giving him bad advice. Regardless, it is clear to us that public not private discussion is the pathway for this is taken seriously. 
     

  • Steven Koko's public post was misleading and offensive to the victims and those who know the whole story
     

  • We are very leery of any leadership guidance given by Gary York and Solomon Kepkey. Both men are still involved in this although Solomon as outside counsel. There are multiple people who have given testimony of Solomon lying in his manoeuvring around this situation in 2022 and we have no reason to believe it's any different today. 
     

  • We have lost all trust in the leadership of CFC and the opportunity to discuss in private open dialogue has passed. We believe it's clear that the only way they'll finally commit to  a 3rd party investigation is through public pressure. It’s a straightforward and reasonable request: open a proper investigation into the allegations.
     

The truth is that there is no perfect way to do this, but Steven Koko could have stopped this at any moment by telling the truth instead of twisting it. He has been telling a different story for years and many people have believed his version without hearing the other side. Some don't even seem open to that and we'd encourage them to reconsider based on Proverbs 18:17. 

Ultimately, we want churches to be aware of the allegations before handing him a place of influence. Silence in these matters only allows abuse to continue and more innocent people to be hurt. 

Finally, we are burdened over the current state of the body of Christ—for the hypocrisy and lack of Christlikeness that seems to be continuously exposed. The church is to be a place of healing as Christ is a person of healing. We recognize that for some it’s been a place of pain as hurt people hurt people. Yet we know that for every story of abuse, sin, and power-hungry leadership, there are also many stories of hope, love, and redemption. So we continue in it - through mess and beauty. We know that public exposure causes more mess, but our intent is to give a voice to victims, prevent future harm, and call for accountability. We do not claim moral high ground, only the responsibility to speak when others have failed to.

Ultimately this is not about us, but the victims. We will continue to stand with them and any others who have suffered abuse. 

Our question is, "If several women confided in you about similar abuse by one individual, and private attempts to address it failed, would you stay silent or do something about it?" Silence promotes abuse.  

Biblical Precedent

The Bible is very public about people’s sin—Adam, Noah, David, Peter. Paul confronted sexual sin in Corinth through a letter shared publicly and openly called out Peter and other leaders and included it in a letter passed to the churches. Jesus and John the Baptist openly called out religious leaders as well. Speaking out publicly isn't to shame, but it is to strongly alert them to their wrongdoing and to warn others.

It's not the exposure of sin that drives people from the faith—it's the presence of unaddressed sin itself. When handled biblically, these situations can lead to greater fear of God among leaders and fewer moral failures.
We need integrity, humility, transparency, and accountability—not systems that hide sin and allow abusers to remain in leadership over an unsuspecting flock. This must stop.

Here are some appropriate passages for this situation. We’re not seeking to bend Scripture to fit our perspective, but to humbly follow its full counsel.

1 Timothy 3:2-3; 5:19-20; Ephesians 5:11; Proverbs 28:13; John 3:20;  Luke 12:1-5; 1 Corinthians 6:1-7; Galatians 2:11-14; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 

Biblical passages we've heard used in support of Steven Koko. 

Matthew 7:1-3  We welcome the same standard applied to us if we ever act as Steven Koko has. We aren't coming from moral superiority. We recognize the essential grace of God in our lives. We're calling for truth and accountability. A public calling for accountability is mercy. We desire to see Steven Koko and anyone victimized find healing.

Matthew 18:15-18  Steven Koko was confronted privately many times - first individually, then by bringing in "one or two more", and finally "the church" was told (his team, as CFC is not a church). As for the victims themselves needing to confront him in person, that's a complete misuse of the passage and often touted by guilty parties trying to stay in control in the situation. Read this article by Bob Gladstone to help clarify why. 

Galatians 6:1 (often used by Steven Koko) John the Baptist called the Pharisees a "brood of vipers". Jesus offended them publicly stating their father was the devil. King Saul faked repentance to look good in front of the people. When dealing with a hardened heart it may not seem gentle to be loud and blunt but there are times it is required or else Jesus, Apostle Paul, and John the Baptist should be rebuked.  Gentle, private efforts were made for 3 years. But the lack of real repentance and the nature of the sin requires a louder response. We welcome true, gentle restoration—but only with real repentance. Admitting the bare minimum while twisting the truth and slandering victims is not repentance. And restoration is of the soul - not restoration back into a leadership position. This is repeated clergy sexual abuse and should disqualify a minister for life no matter who they are or how much '"fruit" their ministry has. 

The Two Narratives

The Two Narratives

We are adding this part in hopes to help people grapple with what's happened as more stories come out, but really the main question to answer is "are these women telling the truth"? Even if there was a malicious takeover attempt, this question needs to be answered first through a 3rd party investigation. Then let the truth come to light elsewhere if needed.

 

People can believe what they would like, but we will address the main points Steven Koko uses to keep himself in a ministry cycle of sin, fake repentance, misaligned restoration period as it's not based on truth, and then a return to ministry. To our knowledge he's had 3 full cycles of that and just started his fourth. Both narratives can't be true and that is why a 3rd party investigation is required. 

I was tired and broken hearted and I fell sexually with one woman while I wasn't doing ministry

Some of this is true. When people hear there was more than one woman, he then states he never said only one. He has admitted to 6+ women. We don't know or even really need to know how many at this point. What really matters now is whether or not some of them were actually physically and sexually abused. Some of the worst of the allegations include him getting up the next day to minister in schools and churches.

Tim Harrison used my confession as an opportunity to take over the ministry because he was after the money

Tim spent three years supporting Steven after his initial confession and repeatedly declined Steven’s and CFC's offers to join its leadership as executive director, president, or board member. If personal gain were his goal, Tim had many chances. Tim did what he was believed was right and that hasn't changed. He, along with others who resigned, also refused board-approved compensation, seeing it as an attempt to silence them through an Affidavit of Cessation. You can read their individual resignation letters here.

I confessed to everything and sincerely submitted to a restoration period that was very difficult for me, but God called me back into ministry so I had to

Behind the scenes, Steven Koko has continued to attempt private contact with victims, including attempts to influence their stories. He denies many allegations while admitting only to parts that don’t permanently threaten his ministry. He has framed himself as the victim, discredited those who speak out—a common pattern in such cases. He draws close to supporters and distances dissenters. This shows self protection and PR attempts, not  repentance with actual transparency. King David had 1 Bathsheba, confrontation, and repentance - not an ongoing cycle of them.

The issues are much deeper then he fell into sexual sin once or twice. It's worse than what has been presented publicly. No one should be preaching 7 months later let alone ever if what the women are claiming is true. Putting him back in that position without a complete vindication from an impartial investigation is irresponsible and dangerous. 

The women had multiple sexual partners and were more experienced than me. One had a spirit that makes men fall. 

It is very sad that the women had a history of being sexually abused since they were children. We honestly have no words about how he is framing them as the aggressors in the relationship and we can't stomach what they've endured through there entire lives including by a man who came "in the name of Jesus". It is evil.

Those who spoke out abandoned me instead of helped me

We all loved and believed in him and tried to help him many times.  We believed that CFC, Gary York, and even Solomon Kepkey would do the right thing when they were made aware of the sexual sin and abuse, but instead we were slandered and pushed out. We spoke and no one wanted to listen. Koko turned on us for trying to keep him accountable. We were blocked and legally threatened or lied to and mistreated. There was no abandoning.

The women's stories changed after they spoke to them

We suppose that Steven would have to identify who these women are for him to know if that's true as only one of them was presented to him and his board. Everything she said was shown to the board and was enough for an unbiased investigation to determine its validity and whether or not there were others as we were reporting there were. The board isn't aware of the identity of the other two.  Again this is why we've asked for an investigation.

Steven Koko's narrative

(seemingly supported by his board)

The narrative of the women and others who were involved that believed them

It was always consensual 

That is strongly contested and blatantly false

Tim deceived everyone who publicly released the letter on June 11, 2025 with his version of events

Everyone signed because of their own involvement and witness in the situation. Four of the eight of them heard of some of the abuses straight from the victims themselves before Tim did. On the video shown to the board, Tim was hearing those stories alongside the others in it for the first time (2 of them released the letter). Tim is looking forward to not having to go public with anymore information, but that has always been up to Steven Koko and his board. They should be the ones to handle this appropriately, but until they do other measures are being taken and now many more than 8 are willing to speak out against what's happened as they're seeing they were lied to by Steven Koko. 

Share your story

If you have experienced harm or have concerns related to your involvement with Cities for Christ or its leadership, we want you to know that you're not alone. We understand that speaking up can be difficult, and we are committed to creating a safe, respectful, and confidential space for those who wish to share their experiences.
 
Know that sharing something doesn't mean it will be made public. Anything we've shared is with the permission and appreciation of the women. Our goal is to help anyone who has felt alone in their pain and/or confusion with how they were treated. Whether you are ready to share or not, know that there are people who care about what you've been through and are praying for your healing in it.

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