The announcement comes amid child sex abuse allegations against the Southlake megachurch's former pastor, Robert Morris.
SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Gateway Church, the Southlake megachurch whose former lead pastor resigned amid child sex abuse allegations, announced a new senior pastor during Sunday's morning service.
The North Texas megachurch announced that Daniel Floyd would be joining them. Floyd and his wife, Tammie Floyd, will be leaving their roles as senior pastors of Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Va., a megachurch they founded about 20 years ago that now has five Virginia locations.
Gateway has been without a senior pastor since June of 2024, when Robert Morris, the former founding pastor of Gateway, stepped down after Cindy Clemishire accused Morris of molesting her on Christmas in 1982 in Hominy, Okla., when she was 12 years old. Morris' son, James, was set to take over the senior role but left the church after Clemishire's accusations came to light.
In March, an Oklahoma grand jury indicted Morris on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. And earlier this month, Gateway Church filed a request in court to stop an arbitration process started by Morris.
In the filing, the church argues Morris is trying to force Gateway to pay him more than $1 million in deferred compensation and additional retirement benefits estimated at $600,000 to $800,000. Morris' arbitration also seeks to obtain the intellectual property rights to books he authored, recorded sermons, social media accounts tied to the pastor the domain addresses pastorrobert.com and PSRobert.com.
WFAA has detailed a timeline of the allegations and lawsuit developments with Gateway Church here.
The Gateway Church elders shared the news of their new senior pastor on the stage in front of the congregation of their 10:30 a.m. Sunday service. Daniel Floyd spoke to Gateway Church earlier this year, the elders said, and the congregation's response to his ministry was "fantastic."
The process to select Daniel Floyd was extensive and thorough, elder Tra Willbanks said in the introduction.
Daniel and Tammie Floyd were not in attendance, but recorded a greeting video for the North Texas megachurch.
"We are so honored and humbled to be stepping into this new role," Tammie Floyd said.
"For us, this isn't just a new assignment, it's a sacred calling," Daniel Floyd added. "Twenty years ago, we had the privilege to planting Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Va., 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."
Daniel Floyd said they've walked closely with the elders of Gateway Church for the past five months.
"With full confidence, we can say that God has called us here," Daniel Floyd said in the video.
Watch the announcement here: