The fast-growing 6,000-member 2819 Church in Atlanta, Georgia, has fired Associate Pastor Kenneth McFarland after he was charged with second-degree cruelty to children for allegedly beating his 15-year-old stepson with an extension cord over an in-school suspension.
“Last week, church leadership learned that Kenneth McFarland was arrested and charged with a serious crime involving the physical harm of a child in his family. After learning about his arrest, we immediately reached out to his wife to offer our unwavering support and commitment to them,” the church said in a statement Thursday.
“We immediately suspended Kenneth indefinitely so that we could better understand the facts. He agreed to step down until a decision was made about his future employment,” the statement continued. “Based on the information that we were able to gather and verify, we made the decision to dismiss Kenneth McFarland from our staff as of Tuesday, November 18th.”
Officers were dispatched to 2455 Mount Carmel Road in Hampton, Georgia, about a reported child abuse incident, according to a report from the Stockbridge Police Department. The address is the location of the west campus of the Creekside Christian Academy, which caters to students from the sixth to 12th grades. Tuition for high school students at the private Christian school is just over $12,000 annually. The initial report of the abuse was made by the school’s assistant secondary principal, Lawrence Gwyn.
Officers responding to the report at the school said Gwyn told them that McFarland’s son had in-school suspension. When the assistant principal entered the room where the student was serving the suspension, he said the student asked him “if there was blood on the back of his pants.”
“Mr. Gwyn observed a blood stain on Mr. [redacted]’s pants and inquired about the cause. [Redacted] stated, ‘my dad called himself disciplining me.’ When asked what he was hit with, [redacted] replied that he was struck with an extension cord,” the report said.
That’s when Gwyn called the Henry County Police. Officers reported observing “bruising to the upper right thigh and lower buttocks” of the pastor’s son.
“[Redacted] stated that he was struck with a power cord from his gaming system before coming to school. He further explained that he received in-school suspension, which led to him being disciplined.”
McFarland was subsequently arrested and charged and released on a $2,500 unsecured bond.
The church, founded and led by Philip Anthony Mitchell, said in their statement that McFarland was fired because he “violated” Scripture and the church’s standard of conduct for those “involved in pastoral ministry.”
“It is important that we communicate with you about this matter because it affects us as a church family. As a team, we are deeply disappointed in the circumstances at hand and grieved for the hurt and pain that was inflicted by someone who carried responsibility in our church,” they said.
“We want to be very clear that 2819 Church will not tolerate violence of any kind, from any member of our team, especially involving children, as this does not reflect our culture and values.”
The church committed to offering support to McFarland’s wife and son, as well as to members of the community who are “struggling or triggered by this circumstance.”
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