Grammy Award-winning worship artist Matt Redman and his wife, Beth, have released a short documentary, titled “Let There Be Light,” shedding light on the abuse they and many others experienced under the leadership of Soul Survivor founder Mike Pilavachi.
Pilavachi is Matt’s former youth leader and Beth’s former boss.
Matt co-founded Soul Survivor alongside Pilavachi, an annual Christian youth festival held in the U.K. that was attended by over 30,000 every year from 1993 to 2019. Matt was 19 years old when Soul Survivor was founded.
In addition to its annual event, Soul Survivor also held events in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Malaysia.
According to a press release, the documentary “highlights victims’ stories, alongside expert insight from experienced professionals discussing how cultures can develop that allow abuse of this nature, and the long-term psychological harm that victims can suffer as a result of it.”
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In “Let There Be Light,” Matt, who had confided in Pilavachi that he was a sexual abuse survivor, and Beth shared about trauma they’ve endured over the four decades of Pilavachi’s leadership.
“This is a story that needed to be told,” Matt said. “Close to 150 people spoke to the initial investigation into Mike Pilavachi’s conduct and that report substantiated claims of physical, psychological, and spiritual abuse. For me, this is also a personal story.”
Matt added that from “the age of 13, I experienced that mistreatment firsthand.” Matt said his experiences with Pilavachi affect him to this day.
“But we didn’t make this documentary to cast stones. Instead, we want to bring light and hope to the situation, as well as to help the church learn from what we and others have experienced,” Matt said.
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“We hope this film conveys just how much we love and believe in the body of Christ,” Beth said. “Our prayer is for the healing of yesterday’s wounds and a brighter, safer church for tomorrow.”
