Leader of abuse survivors criticizes lack of accountability.
The former national leader of Chi Alpha, who resigned after sexual abuse allegations arose within the ministry he led, has been commissioned as a missionary to Iceland.
Scott Martin / Video screenshot
In November 2023, Scott Martin resigned as the director of Chi Alpha World Fellowship, a ministry of the Assemblies of God on college campuses.
Chi Alpha and its leadership have faced criticism because of the reported inappropriate actions and alleged sexual abuse by Daniel Savala, a registered sex offender. Savala pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 2012 in Alaska, but later allegedly served with five Chi Alpha Ministries college chapters.
In September 2023, Savala and fellow Chi Alpha leader Chris Hundl were indicted in McLennan County for indecency with a child and trafficking of persons.
According to the Assemblies of God Office of Public Relations, Martin and his wife were appointed to serve in Iceland with Assemblies of God World Missions, where “they will work to enhance existing ministries in partnership with the Icelandic church.”
The denomination did not respond to MinistryWatch questions about whether an investigation was conducted that might reveal Martin’s knowledge about Savala, Hundl, or any other alleged abusers and whether Martin was subject to any disciplinary or restorative processes.
The official statement from the Assemblies of God recognizes the National Chi Alpha and the General Council received reports about Savala’s “proximity to a Texas church which had connections to Texas Chi Alpha groups” in 2018.
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“[T]he appropriate districts with which these campuses are affiliated were notified. National Chi Alpha, which serves as a resource for locally operated chapters, made relevant Chi Alpha leaders aware of his status and warned them to cease contact and not permit students or leaders to be around him,” the statement reads.
The General Council and National Chi Alpha learned of reports of “sexual contact with students at certain Chi Alpha chapters” in Texas in April 2023 and said those reports “triggered investigations.”
“In response to these investigations, the General Council took appropriate actions, including dismissing the credentials of certain ministers,” the statement adds, without naming the ministers or giving specifics about the investigations.
Ronald Bloomingkemper, who started XA and the Lion’s Den — an online forum for survivors of sexual abuse in Chi Alpha — is critical of Martin’s new appointment as a missionary.
“You don’t get to lead a movement into the biggest abuse scandal in campus ministry history, quietly ‘resign,’ then reappear as a missionary like nothing happened. Who’s calling this restoration? Because it looks a lot more like reputation management,” Bloomingkemper told MinistryWatch.
Bloomingkemper believes Martin was “not merely a casualty of controversy—he was the architect of Chi Alpha’s toxic culture of control.” He claims that Martin “championed spiritual authority, honor culture, and submission as non-negotiables for leadership, creating a system ripe for manipulation and silence” in his book “Kingdom Authority.”
He also claims Martin was warned numerous times about Savala, but “took no meaningful action. In fact, Martin deflected, minimized, and passed the buck,” Bloomingkemper asserts.
MinistryWatch reached out to Martin with questions about his knowledge about reports involving Savala and any disciplinary or investigative process, but did not receive a reply before the time of publication. We will update the story if we receive a response.
Full coverage of the Chi Alpha allegations and lawsuits can be found here.
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