Cultivation Church, a multi-campus Assemblies of God congregation in Louisiana, announced to its congregation Sunday that the lead pastor’s wife had engaged in a two-year affair with a married member of staff.
Along with the revelation during Sunday’s worship service, elders also posted a three-page statement on the church’s website stating that Pastor Matt Donley’s wife, Christina Donley and Chris Audibert had been removed from all leadership positions.
“On Tuesday, July 14, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Christina admitted directly to her husband, Pastor Matt Donley, that she and Chris had been involved in an intimate, adulterous relationship. Shortly after, Chris admitted the relationship to his wife, Pastor Mara Audibert,” the elders said.
An emergency meeting was called the following day, during which both “Chris Audibert and Christina Donley were removed from their offices and from all positions of leadership within Cultivation Church, effective immediately,” the statement said.
Both Pastor Matt Donley and Pastor Mara Audibert were placed on three months of paid leave.
“This leave is not disciplinary. It is intended to provide them with the necessary time and space to care for themselves, their children, and their families, and to prayerfully consider what their future will look like,” the elders said. “Our sincere hope is for their complete healing, peace, and restoration.”
The elders also addressed the emotional toll the revelation has taken on the congregation, adding: “We understand that many of you may be experiencing grief, anger, disappointment, confusion, betrayal, and concern. Those emotions are understandable. Trust has been broken, and many questions remain unanswered. We will not minimize the seriousness of what has occurred.”
“At the same time, we must remember that Cultivation Church does not belong to any one pastor, leader, family, or individual. The church belongs to Jesus Christ,” the statement added. “The elders will continue meeting in the coming days to determine the appropriate next steps concerning leadership, pastoral care, accountability, ministry stability, governance, and the future direction of Cultivation Church.”
Elders added that the allegations were initially revealed by someone from outside the church “who did not claim to have directly witnessed the relationship.”
They added that Pastor Bryan Bilac, the regional presbyter of the Assemblies of God, then approached Pastor Donley about the allegations concerning his wife.
Both Christina Donley and Chris Audibert initially denied the allegations once the investigation began, before later confessing the affair to their spouses last Tuesday.
Up until June, when they were promoted to pastors overseeing the “Greenhouse Churches & Serve Team,” Audibert and his wife, Mara, had served as the children’s directors of Cultivation Church.
Revelations of this affair also reopened questions about an earlier relationship involving Christina Donley. Elders said she had previously been counseled and forgiven for “an inappropriate intimate relationship with another adult female member of the church” in 2022, but that current church leadership was unaware of it until recently. Mandeville campus Pastor Daniel Bankston and Assemblies of God leadership also learned of the 2022 affair only after the elders did.
The previous affair resurfaced on April 22, when two church members who had known about it met with Pastor Donley “to request clarification and understanding concerning what disciplinary, counseling, and restorative actions had been taken following that incident,” the elders said.
A week later, on April 29, Donley met with the elders and assured them that he and his wife had moved past the 2022 affair with outside help.
“Pastor Matt explained the actions that had been taken by outside council in 2022. He stated that the steps followed at that time had been based upon advice from outside council and included Christina stepping away from ministry for a period of time, marital counseling, accountability, reconciliation, and a process intended to bring healing and restoration to their marriage,” the statement said.
“Pastor Matt stated that he had not avoided the need for accountability, counseling, reconciliation, or forgiveness. He represented to the elders that the matter had been addressed within their marriage, that the necessary restorative steps had been taken, and that the incident was behind them,” the elders said.
Following that meeting, elders advised the Donleys to “seek the Lord for wisdom concerning how they might appropriately share a testimony of healing and restoration with the body of Cultivation Church.”
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