Grace Covenant Church

1255 North Greenfield Road, Gilbert 85234

480-813-0883
Reformedbaptist2@msn.com
gccgilbert.com

August 20, 2018

To the Administrative Council of ARBCA

Brothers of the Administrative Council,

It is with saddened hearts that we are again addressing the Administrative Council. This is our third
official correspondence with you. In our two other letters we pleaded with you to take the necessary
steps to demonstrate prudence and vigilance in investigating the handling of the Tom Chantry
allegations of wrongdoing. These pleadings were based on information provided through the public
records obtained from the police report and subsequent records from the criminal court pretrial
hearing. Since our first letter in March of 2018, more incriminating information in regard to ARBCA’s
handling of this incident has been learned through the criminal trial proceeding, which began in late
July of 2018 and is ongoing. The Elders of Grace Covenant Church have now concluded that ARBCA
officers conspired to work both within and outside of ARBCA to suppress, minimize, marginalize,
mislead, mischaracterize and even completely cover-up information beginning in the year 2000 and at
times since. We now believe the "ARBCA Announcement Concerning Tom Chantry" made to member
churches and the public at the General Assembly of 2017 fits within the scope of this conclusion.

As a result, it has become obvious that we can no longer trust ARBCA in the handling of this matter.
Despite numerous requests and continued patience on the part of Grace Covenant Church we have
found ARBCA to be unanimously dismissive to our pleas for appropriate action. ARBCA has made it
apparent that it cannot investigate itself with the objectivity, skill and competence to determine the
facts. ARBCA has made it apparent that it will not respond with the sense of urgency and decisive
action that we believe is warranted given the seriousness of the situation. ARBCA has made it apparent
it is unwilling to take accountability. Understanding the seriousness of this conclusion and in light of
your failure to act on our prior appeals, Grace Covenant Church formally resigns membership in ARBCA
effective immediately.

Though we have resigned membership we still desire that ARBCA act on our appeals. We firmly believe
it will require a publicly recognized third-party investigative body that has dealt with issues of like
manner within a church culture to complete a report that is forwarded to the ARBCA member churches
and made available to the general public. It is important that the general public is invited to obtain a
copy of the completed report, its finding and its recommended changes, in order to restore the
credibility that was lost due to the Administrative Council’s unwillingness to take the appropriate action
at the appropriate time, regardless of the consequence to individuals within ARBCA.

Though we are no longer a member church, the Elders of Grace Covenant Church still maintain our
repeated appeals to ARBCA to move forward with an investigation specifically as it relates to points 1-4
listed below.

1. Failure to report the alleged crime of a felony upon a child to Arizona law enforcement - The
Informal Council of ARBCA was sent to Miller Valley Baptist Church during the period of
December 13-16, 2000. This three-man council’s investigation was conducted, in which it was
revealed to these men that Tom spanked certain children in the church with alleged excessive
physical force resulting in severe bruising. In the State of Arizona, it is mandatory that “persons
having responsibility for the care or treatment of children” report this type of offense to law
enforcement. As ordained protectors of God’s sheep, the investigation team had a moral and
legal obligation to confirm this crime had been reported to law enforcement or make the
notification as an investigating body of the association.

2. Failure to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of children when considering Tom Chantry’s
church for membership. The criminal investigation’s focus in 2016, though no charges had been
filed as yet, was child molestation due to inappropriate sexual contact. This is a significant
increase in danger and risk to the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of children. This
increased risk should have halted all efforts of membership into ARBCA. In addition, ARBCA, out
of moral responsibility to the people of God, should have ensured that the leadership at the
church where Tom Chantry was pastoring was informed of the severity of the charges for the
well-being of the children in the church. Furthermore, the leadership’s response to this
information (i.e. officially making the membership of the church aware of the investigation)
should have been considered by ARBCA in accepting the church’s application to ARBCA.

3. Failure to properly and publicly disclose critical information to member churches - The
Membership Committee and the AC recommended Tom Chantry's church for membership to
ARBCA knowing (at the time leading up to the 2016 G.A. in Rockford) that a felony investigation
was pending that would possibly (or even likely) result in his arrest. This information was not
passed along to the voting delegates prior to the G.A. so they could make a more informed
decision.

4. Failure to properly and publicly communicate a balanced concern for the severity of the
charges against Tom Chantry, the concern for the victims, and the recognition of ARBCA’s
responsibility to assess its protocols. When the Administrative Council read its position
statement on the floor of the 2017 General Assembly, it left out some important components
such as: 1) Failing to identify these “past allegations” stemming from 1995-2000 as child abuse,
a felony in the state of Arizona; 2) Failing to accurately identify Tom Chantry’s current child
molestation investigation, as such, and only referring to it as an incident or allegation; 3) Stating
 that the three-person investigative team followed all proper protocols required by the State of
Arizona, when, in fact, they failed to comply with mandatory reporting laws in cases of
suspected child abuse; 4) There was no acknowledgement of concern for the children; 5) There
was no commitment communicated to establish protocols in order to determine best practices
for the future.

Further, we appeal to ARBCA to humbly submit to corrective action as determined by a third-party

investigative body within the following time frames:

1. Vote to approve a third-party investigative body as described above within 30 days of receipt of
this letter and notify all ARBCA member churches of your actions, including the name of the
third-party investigative body.
2. Authorize the investigative body to begin the investigation immediately and provide detailed
updates of their progress every 30 days to all ARBCA member churches.
3. Immediately implement all recommended changes, after receiving input and a vote on these
changes by all ARBCA member churches at the 2019 ARBCA General Assembly.

To our knowledge, even after all this time, there has been no concern expressed publically for the
victims by ARBCA. We love ARBCA, the good things that God has done through ARBCA and its member
churches, and we are committed to praying diligently that you will no longer delay in doing what is
right.

For His glory,

The Elders of Grace Covenant Church