200,000 Secret Church Files Exposed: Harvest Christian Fellowships Child Abuse Cover Up Deepens

Harvest Christian Fellowship Accused of Hiding 200,000 Confidential Files Amid Romania Child Abuse Lawsuit

Harvest Christian Fellowship and its founder, Pastor Greg Laurie, have filed an emergency motion accusing the attorney for 22 alleged child sexual abuse survivors of obtaining more than 200,000 confidential church documents without authorization.

The ex parte application was filed on April 1, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Harvest claims attorney Jan Cervenka of McAllister Olivarius received the files from a former church employee who was not authorized to possess them.

According to court filings, the documents include sensitive materials such as donor lists and employee records. Harvest's attorney, Howard M. Privette of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P., sought to restrict the use of these files in the ongoing litigation.

U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes granted the emergency application on April 2, vacating an April 3 deadline for Harvest's motion to dismiss the abuse claims.

Cervenka fired back, arguing that the former employee was not part of church management and had never signed a nondisclosure agreement or any confidentiality agreement upon leaving Harvest. The attorney's firm identified only 16 potentially privileged communications among the trove of documents and reviewed just two before returning them to Harvest's legal team.

The former employee "did not sign a non disclosure agreement, or any confidential agreement on the termination of their employment with Harvest."

Cervenka also requested sanctions against Harvest's legal team, alleging misconduct. The dispute centers on California Labor Code Section 2860, which governs materials acquired by employees during the course of their work.

The underlying lawsuit involves 22 plaintiffs who allege they were sexually abused and trafficked as minors while living in Harvest run children's homes in Romania between 1998 and 2008. Former missions pastor Paul Havsgaard is accused of committing the abuse while managing the homes. Former pastor Richard Schutte is also named for alleged negligence in failing to prevent the abuse.

Greg Laurie's Harvest Church Faces Document Scandal in Child Abuse Cover Up Case

A consolidated 201 page federal lawsuit filed in March 2026 alleges Harvest ran a "cover up machine" that hid child sexual abuse in Romania for two decades. The lawsuit claims Harvest leadership first received reports of Havsgaard's abuse as early as 1999 from multiple sources, including the children themselves, Romanian employees, volunteers from California, and Harvest pastors.

By 2004, the abuse reports had become so widespread that Harvest authorized an inspection, which allegedly produced "conclusive evidence that Havsgaard was sexually abusing children and misappropriating money, both on a shocking scale." Despite these findings, the lawsuit alleges the church continued to employ and pay Havsgaard.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me be absolutely clear: if these allegations are true, there is no defense. None. Children were placed in the care of a church, and that church allegedly looked the other way while a predator destroyed their innocence for a decade. The fact that Harvest is now fighting over leaked documents instead of answering for what happened in those Romanian homes tells you everything you need to know about where their priorities lie. Jesus said it would be better for a millstone to be hung around the neck of anyone who causes a little one to stumble. That is not a metaphor. The church must be the safest place on earth for children, or it has failed its most basic calling. Justice will come, whether in a courtroom or before the throne of God.

Take Action

• Pray for the 22 survivors who are seeking justice after decades of alleged abuse in Romania.
• Contact your church leadership and ask what safeguarding policies are in place for children in overseas mission programs.
• Support organizations that protect children from abuse: www.TheShepherdsShield.org
• Learn more about child protection in church settings through GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment).
• If you or someone you know has experienced abuse in a church setting, contact RAINN at 1 800 656 4673 for confidential support.