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From Pastor John's Desk

From Pastor John's Desk

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On two occasions in the recent past (September 28, 2018, and September 27, 2019), West Highland Baptist Church partnered with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) in holding large outreach events at the First Ontario Concert Hall as part of our mission to Make the Word of God Fully Known in our city. On both of these occasions, Ravi Zacharias was our special guest and represented us and other partnering churches in Hamilton.

After Christianity Today, in September 2020, reported allegations of sexual misconduct against Ravi Zacharias, RZIM responded and initiated an independent investigation which substantiated that Zacharias had indeed participated in sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour.

We are deeply saddened by this horrible news that someone we trusted as a minister of the Gospel and held in high esteem as a Christian evangelist and apologist was guilty of such duplicity.

While clearly acknowledging that Ravi’s actions were sinful and wrong we are calling upon you the people of West Highland to pray with us for Ravi’s heartbroken family, for the women who were taken advantage of and hurt deeply, and for those whose faith has been shaken by this news.

The shock and grief we have experienced by the revelation of Ravi’s actions have caused us to consider again the importance that Christian and church leaders must be individuals who are above reproach and uphold the high moral standards of the Gospel ( 1 Timothy 3:1-10; 4:12-16; 6:11-12; Titus 1:6-9). This calling we take seriously and we request you to pray also for us that we will be shielded by God’s power and delivered from the evil one ( 1 Peter 1:5; Matthew 6:13).

Finally, remember that the messengers of our faith will from time to time let us down, but the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, will never let us down. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and it is in God, not man, that we place our hope and trust.

We know that many will be shaken by this news, and so we want you to feel free to reach out to any of the Pastors or Elders should you have questions or desire prayer.

Sincerely in Christ,

John Mahaffey
On behalf of the Pastors and Elders