The claims The abuse case
How did Go Church handle the abuse case in VRT’s documentary, and what does Bishop Dag Heward-Mills teach about abuse?
Go Church says the man was questioned, admitted the accusations against him and was removed immediately and permanently. Bishop Dag Heward-Mills has taught since at least 1998 that sexual misconduct by a pastor must be reported, and in 2026 he told young people that a girl being sexualised by a pastor has a duty to report it so that it stops.
What the documentary said
the start of months of rape
startpunt van maandenlange verkrachting
Jezebel will overstep her boundaries and dominate her husband
De betrokken pastor is volgens zijn opvolger overgeplaatst naar de UK. De kerk daar zou het intern aanpakken.
The top knew: the prophet, Dag Heward-Mills, was informed. His only concern was whether we were still in the church or not
De top, want de profeet is ervan op de hoogte gesteld, Dag Heward-Mills. En zijn enige zorg was of we nog in de kerk zaten of niet
he knows everything… 100%… sad but he does[n’t]…
Our investigation shows Go Church did not sufficiently address the alleged sexual abuse. That is serious.
Go Church het vermeende seksuele misbruik niet voldoende heeft aangepakt. Dat is ernstig.
as for the abuse, we dealt with it
King ontkent alle aantijgingen. Wat het misbruik betreft, dat hebben we aangepakt, klinkt het.
Watch VRT at this point · VRT NWS Pano33:55 (opens the recording on YouTube at 33:55)
Go Church’s written answer
“onmiddellijk en definitief” … “heeft de tegen hem ingebrachte beschuldigingen toegegeven”
Go Church written reply to VRT, 21 Oct 2026 (published on vrtnws.be). VRT broadcast one sentence of the reply. Read the full reply in Dutch and English.
What the film left out
How this case was handled and what Bishop Dag teaches about abuse are separate questions, and they need separate answers.
On the case, a woman told VRT that a former leader of Go Church Belgium raped her over many months. Go Church’s written reply says the man was questioned, admitted the accusations against him and was removed immediately and permanently. The accused is that former leader, not Bishop Dag.
The one line in the film that ties Bishop Dag to the case is the claim that he was informed. VRT gives no date, no message and no account of who told him. It plays two people’s words back to back after a single question, one in Dutch and one in English, and VRT’s own written article on the abuse does not carry the claim.
On the teaching, his record runs back almost thirty years. In 1998 he told a church in Winneba that if the pastor is sleeping with somebody, members must say it and report it. In 2026 he told young people in Mampong that a girl being sexualised by a pastor has a duty to report it so that it stops. In his book on church government he defines any sexual behaviour a pastor draws a church member into as abuse of power, and says a congregant abused by a pastor is more of a victim than a participant.
The record: his own words, across the years
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2026
Mampong, Ghana, Sermon
In Ghana in 2026, weeks before the broadcast.
So if you are a young girl and you are being sexualised by a pastor, your duty is to report it. Don’t say, ‘Oh, I didn’t want to, I don’t want to say.’ No. You report it so that it stops. Yes. Don’t say, ‘Oh, I didn’t want…’ whatever. No. Some of you have house help in the house, maids, a house help, and they are doing things to you. It’s your duty, both boys and [girls]. So loyalty does not withhold. That’s how sin and wickedness grows, by the [fact] that we withhold information.
Mampong, Ghana, 2026 Recording held back while it is reviewed. The words are as spoken.
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1998
Winneba, Ghana, Sermon on 1 Corinthians 5
The same teaching, 28 years earlier.
If you are loyal and there is immorality going on, you will come and [say] it. You can see the church member is sleeping with so-and-so: you must say it. Amen? … You can see the pastor is sleeping with somebody: say it. Thank you. Come and report. If you don’t report, you are disloyal.
Watch · Winneba, Ghana, 19981:31:57 to 1:32:27 (opens the recording on YouTube at 1:31:57)
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2023
Kettering, United Kingdom, Sermon
In England in 2023, speaking to people who have been abused.
You are not the only girl to be molested… Raise your hand if you’ve been molested… The great wonder is that you be healed of that molestation… Those who raise their hands are just a fraction of the people that have been molested. And sometimes you’ve been molested and you don’t know… it’s later you find out, ‘I was being used… the guy was just fooling me… I was just being played with and destroyed.’
In his books
Abuse of power includes any sexual behaviour at the request or instigation of a bishop or pastor in which the bishop or pastor coerces, deceives, lures, entices, emotionally manipulates or unduly influences a subordinate, an employee, a counselee, a church member, a congregant or any person with whom the bishop or pastor has a pastoral relationship to engage in fornication, adultery, sexual perversions or sexual misconduct with the bishop or pastor.
An abused congregant who has been sexually misused by a senior person or authority figure like a bishop or a pastor is considered to be more of a victim than a participant in a sin.
Abuse is usually done by someone who has power over you. This power over you may be because of his position, his authority or even his physical strength.
Many people are sexually violated and robbed. Unfortunately, there are pastors who also rob and spoil people’s lives.
The scripture
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Jesus gave His sternest warning to anyone who causes one of His followers to fall. Bishop Dag prints this verse directly under his definition of a pastor’s sexual abuse of power.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Jesus warned that some who come dressed as sheep are wolves inside. Bishop Dag’s teaching that members must report a pastor who abuses them takes that warning seriously.
The verdict
By the church’s own account the abuse happened, and the man who did it admitted it and was removed. What Bishop Dag has taught for almost thirty years points the same way: if a pastor abuses you, report it so that it stops.
Questions people ask
Was Bishop Dag Heward-Mills the man accused of abuse?
No. The accused is a former leader of Go Church Belgium. Go Church says he admitted the accusations and was removed immediately and permanently.
Did Go Church report the abuse to the police?
No. In its written reply Go Church says it did not report the matter to the police or child protection, and that the women were adults who declined to report and asked the church not to report on their behalf.
What about the “Jezebel spirit” teaching VRT mentions?
His teaching on someone abused by a pastor is plain. In The Gift of Government he writes that a congregant sexually misused by a bishop or pastor “is considered to be more of a victim than a participant in a sin.”