The charismatic pastor of one of British Columbia’s largest churches, who was accused of sexual assault and grooming foster children, returned to ministry after stepping away five months ago.
Kelowna Harvest Church in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, announced in a statement on Wednesday that its pastor, Art Lucier, is returning to ministry after voluntarily stepping away in April amid an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
After the conclusion of the investigation, the oversight committee tasked with reviewing the allegations against Lucier unanimously agreed to reinstate him in his leadership role effective Monday.
“This includes returning to public ministry such as preaching and teaching,” the statement reads. “Art Lucier has accepted this invitation.”
The decision comes as the church and Lucier face civillawsuits filed by two women who allege Lucier sexually abused them as children in foster care starting in 2001, when Lucier’s ministry was based in Kitimat, over 800 miles away from it is based now in Kelowna. Lucier has denied the allegations. The lawsuits remain pending.
According to The Roys Report, which initially reported the lawsuits in May, one of the girls was 11 when the alleged abuse began, which continued for eight years. The other was 14 when the alleged abuse began and reportedly continued for 14 years.
In a statement at the time, the church said the lawsuit originated from “two women who have accused Art Lucier and Harvest Ministries International of alleged sexual assault, and consequent coverups which supposedly took place 15-20 years ago.”
The church described the allegations as “slanderous” and “totally false,” stating that it was “vigorously pursuing all legal remedies available, including suing for slander and libel.”
A Change.org petition backed by over 1,100 people features a letter from alleged victims claiming that Lucier and Harvest Ministries International engaged in “grooming and sexual abuse of young girls, repeated and prolonged spiritual abuse, and the public shaming and silencing of survivors and whistleblowers.” The letter urges the church to “cooperate with an agreed-upon third-party investigation into these allegations of abuse” and make the findings public.
Lucier, who gained some attention in 2021 by speaking out against COVID-19 restrictions, addressed the allegations against him in a video posted to Facebook Live on Wednesday, criticizing The Roys Report for reporting the allegations against him. He said he asked the church to investigate after he heard allegations were coming.
“This past year has been in some ways the hardest year of my life,” he said. “In time here soon, I’m going to be telling our story about what’s been going on without getting caught in the whole gross gossip trap, but actually coming with forgiveness towards people and the message of the cross.”
On Thursday, one day after the Facebook Live video was published, The Roys Report published an article alleging that Lucier sent a picture of his naked behind to a woman anonymously referred to in the story as Jane Doe in one of many alleged instances where he allegedly sent her inappropriate material. The Roys Report shared the contents of a phone call the publication had with Lucier, where he characterized the picture as “a prank I did on somebody” that was “photoshopped.”
“There’s so much crap out there,” he added. “It’s hard to keep up with it, so I’m really going to not comment on it.”
In May, Kelowna Harvest Church released a statement claiming that Harvest Ministries International had “become the target of malicious attacks involving the circulation of false narratives and fabricated visual content, including an AI-generated and digitally manipulated image purporting to represent a member of our pastoral team in a defamatory and indecent manner.”
“We consider the publication or distribution of these materials to be an intentional act of defamation, and we will pursue all available legal remedies against any party — individual or organization — that chooses to participate in, propagate, or profit from these actions,” the church vowed.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
