Dear Friends,

The boards and staff of RZIM Africa entities are devastated and heartbroken by the findings of the Miller and Martin investigation revealing that for many years, Ravi Zacharias did indeed engage in sexual misconduct and abuse. 

For many of us, Ravi Zacharias was someone that we loved, respected and learned from. So this revelation has caused profound confusion, sorrow and pain. We have struggled individually and as a global team to come to terms with the reality of Ravi Zacharias’ abuse of these women, for us as a team in Africa, for the ministry, and for our public witness. We commit to embracing the fullness of truth, as painful as that truth may be.

The courageous women who shared their devastating stories of abuse at the hands of power are bearing a pain deeper than we can ever know. While we all must deal with the ramifications of Ravi Zacharias’ actions, these women bear the wounds of those actions directly. These actions have added pain upon pain to the lives of women and the ripples of this pain have spread out into the lives of their families and communities. 

We painfully acknowledge that the image Ravi Zacharias presented to the public was different from the life that he lived in secrecy. The truth of the life of Jesus that Ravi preached so persuasively in public was different from the lies and deception that he spun around his own life in private. The hypocrisy of Ravi’s admonishments to us to live with integrity and his consistent requirements of us were vastly different from his own misuse of power to abuse and manipulate the women who have come forward. Given the extent of Ravi’s deception and abuse, we recognize that there may be many others who have suffered, and whose stories have not yet been told. We commit to doing everything we can to ensure these victims are heard should they choose to come forward, and to protect them from secondary trauma in this process.

Our scriptures are filled with lament – from the Psalms to Lamentations to Jesus’ cry from the cross. Lament is not simply about sorrow or grief, but an invitation to talk to God about pain and to commit to costly action to redeem and restore what is lost.