https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Sah-VrESBM At the tender age of 12, my innocence was shattered by the very institution that should have protected me - the church. For years, I endured the unthinkable, trapped in a cycle of abuse within sacred walls that were meant to shelter me. Today, I am a phoenix rising from those ashes, determined to break the silence and help others find their voice.

I was one of the first kept secrets of child sex abuse in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World a.k.a. PAofW, one of the largest predominately black "Jesus only" church denominations. Located in Sacramento, California at the age of twelve, Pierre's innocence was taken away by the hands of his youth pastor Lemuel Collins. After the revelation of Pierre's abuse, his family relocated to Los Angeles. Young Pierre just vanished. Many years later he returned to the South Sac flock a couple of times for services etc., where the founding Pastor: Bishop David C. Foster, Sr., made a show promising to get in touch but never delivered. That gave the ultimate reasoning for filing a civil claim against the church and awarding an undisclosed compensation for damages. 

It is time for immediate change in how churches handle child sex abuse. Currently, there is no formal protocol or system in place within many churches to handle such disclosures or educate staff about this grave issue. This lack of structure is especially prevalent in "independent" run churches who have no accountability but themselves.

We demand that all church staff be required to undergo education or certification about child sex abuse - understanding what it entails, recognizing grooming signs, and knowing how and when to report an incident. The absence of such crucial training leaves children vulnerable; according to the Darkness To Light organization's statistics, approximately 1 in 7 girls and 1 in 25 boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18.

If churches fail to implement these necessary changes they should lose their tax-exempt status (501c3) until completed. This would ensure accountability for these institutions while protecting our children from becoming another statistic.

Join us as we fight for this cause; sign this petition today so we can protect our children tomorrow.