Progression of Public Statements

After watching the uncovered Marco Polo video compilation of the VBM directors and Pastor Trent Cornwell caught on tape, it can be clearly seen how these 3 public statements previously released by Vision Baptist leaders are full of lies and coverups.

From 2021’s “independent external investigation” of former president Austin Gardner:

- August 5

- August 7

- August 24

The lies exposed:

• VBM did and does cover up abuse.
• They did NOT immediately begin investigating.
• They are NOT committed to truth.
• It was NOT a truly independent external investigation.
• They do NOT care about transparency.
• The ombudsman they had set up was an executive director’s (Travis Snode) sister-in-law. She has since been removed. VBM does NOT currently have an ombudsman.
• They are NOT committed to accountability.
• They do NOT take all accusations of abuse seriously.
• They are NOT committed to integrity.
• They are NOT committed to bringing the truth to light.
• They did NOT make sure the investigation process was trustworthy or transparent.

8/5 – VBM Public Statement #1

“Our Founder and President, W. Austin Gardner, was recently confronted with some accusations from around forty years ago. His primary desire is to promote the Gospel and he decided that continuing as President of the Mission Board would create a protracted distraction. Rather than allowing that to occur, he tendered his resignation today as President and Board member, and he wants the entire world-wide team to focus on their ministries and the cause of Christ. The world desperately needs the good news of Jesus Christ, and global mission efforts are challenging enough without additional complications.

To be clear, Vision Baptist Mission Board does not cover up abuse, and we have zero tolerance for child abuse in our ministry. As a matter of policy, this Board reports all reasonable suspicions of child abuse to the authorities. We carefully interview and screen our missionaries and volunteers, and our leadership team works to maintain child protection policies based on best practices nationally. We believe that transparency, child safety, and accountability are essential for successful ministry, and we are fully committed to ministering in a safe and responsible manner.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our General Director Jeff Bush if you have any questions. Please pray for everyone involved in this deeply personal and highly painful situation.”

– VBM Statement #1

Notice:

1. No mention of an investigation that they supposedly “launched immediately” (mentioned later)
2. Minimized the accusations by not naming them.
3. Distanced the accusations saying they were “from 40 years ago”
4. Lifted him up as the hero martyr that is willing to resign rather than “distract”
5. Directs you to focus on something else.
6. Points to a policy instead of committing to the bottom of this real accusation.

8/3-6 – Pressure from Pastors

Then they began to receive letters like this one from supporting Pastors:

“Dear Mr. Bush:

I read the statement that was published on your Facebook page regarding Austin Gardner’s resignation. cannot express how profoundly disappointed am with this statement. It is both grammatically and factual incorrect.

If this statement stands without amendment, then (redacted)—- Baptist Church will discontinue any association with Vision Baptist Missions. As you know. (redacted)—– Baptist Church currently sends S1.250 per month or $15,000 per year to support VBM missionaries. I will also publicly write a letter stating the reasons that we no longer have any association with Vision Baptist Missions.

The glaring error in the Vision Baptist Missions statement are the words, “some accusations.” Sir, there are very real, detailed and specific allegations. The Vision Baptist Missions statement implies that Austin Gardner is resigning as a favor to others. In fact, if the second paragraph of the statement is true, Vision Baptist Missions should have clearly stated that Austin Gardner was terminated from his position.

Although I can appreciate allegiance and loyalty to a man, the greater issue is the Gospel. There seems to be a genuine disconnect within the Vision Baptist Missions family on this issue. I am praying for a proper correction from the leadership of Vision Baptist Missions. You might even consider the careful and thorough statement that Josh Teis recently wrote about his best friend Josh Irmler as a reference. It was masterfully written and left no room for any ambiguity.

With kindest regards, —–“

– A Supporting Pastor

8/5 – Internal Email Conversation

And internally, frustrated that no one was calling for an investigation into the allegations, I sent an email with the subject “Investigate” on Thu, Aug 5, 2021 at 5:22 PM

Internal email thread calling for Investigation

To the outside observer it may seem that my emails judge too prematurely, but remember, I know these people very well and have seen, for many years, the subtle and deceptive ways this culture operates.

They operate in plausible deniability and double-speak.

You may read the conversation and think I am reading too much into it, and that their actions seem perfectly noble, but I caution you to be more suspicious than that.

Furthermore, my suspicions were proven right by what has taken place since — they have not done a full independent and unbiased investigation, but rather hired a lawyer to investigate only a single part of the accusation, and refused to investigate anything else.

So, under enormous pressure, they put out a 2nd statement:

8/7 – VBM Public Statement #2

“Vision Baptist Missions takes all sin seriously and is committed to integrity and transparency.

On August 4th, serious allegations were made against Austin Gardner. Within 24 hours, he was officially removed from our organization. We immediately began investigating these allegations and our commitment to truth has led us to launch an independent, external investigation. Any future allegations against any missionary or staff at Vision Baptist Missions will be thoroughly investigated.

In an effort to foster transparency, Vision Baptist Missions has an appointed ombudsman to receive any complaints or accusations. We encourage all abuse victims to report to abuse@visionemail.org.

We are committed to truth and accountability. We take all accusations seriously and we have a zero-tolerance policy against sexual misconduct.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our General Director, Jeff Bush, at 770-362-3795 if you have any questions. Please pray for everyone affected.”

– VBM Statement #2

Notice:

1. He was not “removed”, he resigned with everyone begging him not to.
2. “Immediately began investigating” – The emails state what they were busy doing, and nowhere is investigation in there. Only statements that he has already been declared innocent by a biased investigation previously.
3. Keep reading to learn more about this “independent, external investigation”
4. Is This “ombudsman” (a neutral party to receive complaints) not the sister of Teri Snode? No one will answer.    Stephanie Grant –> The sister of Teri Snode –> The wife of Travis Snode –> Director at VBM. I don’t think that counts as an unbiased party. I can’t confirm that the Stephanie Grant that answered the abuse email is 100% Teri’s sister, but I can confirm that Teri has a sister named Stephanie Grant who either used to go to Vision or still does. Perhaps it’s a coincidence but I doubt it.
5. Several people have emailed this  and asked about who would receive the report if they were to report their experience at this email address and have received no response.

8/17 – Investigator #1 – National Center for Life and Liberty

Earnhart suggested to VBM that the investigation be done by the “National Center for Life and Liberty” with David Gibbs III. They specialize in these types of investigations.

But almost immediately, NCLL walked away from working with them because Vision Baptist Missions refused to investigate any spiritual or emotional abuse.

8/24 – Investigator #2 – Law Firm hired by Vision and Public Statement #3

“On August 4th 2021, allegations were published on several social media platforms by Becky Earnhart claiming Austin Gardner, our former president and founder, abused her as a child several decades ago. The Board of Directors of Vision Baptist Missions has authorized A. Lee Parks, senior partner at the law firm of Parks, Chesin, & Walbert of Atlanta, Georgia, to conduct an independent external investigation of these accusations. Vision Baptist Missions has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse and is committed to integrity and transparency. Even though Mr. Gardner is no longer with our organization, the board believes an independent investigation is necessary to establish the facts and bring the truth to light.

Upon completion of the independent investigation, we will release an official statement regarding its findings to ensure this process is trustworthy and transparent. Please be in prayer for everyone involved in this process.”

– VBM Statement #3

Notice:

1. Allegations are limited down to 1 of the 20+ allegations to only the child abuse. Probably the most difficult to prove.
2. The scope of the investigation is severely limited to exclude almost everything, insuring the culture, finances, or anything else at VBM is never looked at.
3. A law firm has fiduciary responsibility to their client (VBM), so VBM is in effect in control of the investigation.
4. VBM is in control of what will be released: “we will release an official statement regarding its findings”. A statement about the findings, not the findings themselves. And they get to release it, so they can filter whatever they want.
5. At this point a legal disclaimer was auto-added to all emails on our email ring to scare us away from sharing anything.
6. Their website states “we are committed to our clients.” It sounds like their job is to protect their client, not necessarily get to the truth.