Former Mars Hill Church deacon Rob Smith has created a GoFundMe account to fund legal action, if necessary, to address grievances against Mars Hill Church. The grievances primarily involve the Global Fund and non-disclosure clauses signed by former employees.
Despite many appeals to Mars Hill Church leadership to address several grievances, it now appears that it will be necessary to take legal action to see that these greivances are addressed. Donors, ex-members and members are preparing to pursue this alternative. This fund would be used to pay for the legal costs of such a pursuit.
Mars Hill Church has also used non-disclosure agreements to silence ex-employees with valid grievances. This fund would be used to defend any ex-employee that is sued by Mars Hill Church for violating the terms of their non-disclosure agreement.
Once all matters are settled, the balance of this fund, if any, will be shared between the advertised recipients of the Mars Hill Global Fund (Ethiopian and Indian pastors) and with Agathos International. That portion of any donor’s gift to this legal fund will be tax-deductible.
We are attempting to schedule a meeting with Mars Hill representatives in an effort to avoid litigation, and it appears that this meeting may take place.
According to Smith, the church has avoided questions regarding the Global Fund and how much was raised based on appeals to fund Ethiopian and Indian church planters. In contrast to claims from the church made just today, Global Fund appeals were made consistently to pay for outreach in Africa and India but most funds were spent on Mars Hill Church expansion.