In debt, Resonate Church to shut down a week after founder Davey Blackburn resigns

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, January 28, 2019

A week after Pastor Davey Blackburn of Resonate Church in Indiana announced his resignation to answer God’s newest call on his life, church officials revealed Sunday that the congregation was tens of thousands of dollars in debt and would be shutting down.

Amy Smith, sexual abuse survivor advocate, highlighted a dissolution plan presented to the congregation by John Berry, interim pastor since Blackburn’s resignation. It was tweeted by Twitter user Pink Haired Devil who was present at the church during the unveiling on Sunday.

The plan showed that the church had liabilities of $73,817.97 and cash totaling only $38,154.48. To offset the deficit of $35,663.97 the church will sell off its worship, production, and other valuable equipment owned by the ministry. Any funds remaining from the sale is expected to be donated to a church or nonprofit that is yet to be determined.

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Resonate Church officials did not immediately respond to a request for an interview Monday but other sources who did not wish to be identified in this report told CP that approximately 75 people showed up for the presentation and they were allegedly “very angry at Davey.”

“There were a lot of unneeded large purchases — audio and video equipment, TVs, etc, according to John Berry. John Berry, at the end of service, took questions, people were angry, asking if there was a misuse of funds,” the source said.

Berry reportedly told the congregation that their review of the accounts did not show any misuse of funds and Blackburn would not be taking any responsibility for the debt since he has resigned from the church.

Blackburn and his late wife Amanda Blackburn moved to Indianapolis in January 2012 to plant Resonate Church. Prior to that, he had spent four years on staff at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina, under then Pastor Perry Noble.

After Amanda was murdered in their home in November 2015 while Davey was away at the gym, Blackburn recast the vision of his church.

“She believed nothing was wasted and anything could be restored into a treasure. Now the vision of Resonate has taken on a deeper level and reach. We now spend every waking moment following Jesus in His plan to restore this tragedy into something beautiful. We've seen hundreds of people give their lives to Jesus as their personal savior since Amanda's death,” the church says on its website.

“We're on a mission to turn Indianapolis upside-down for Jesus and we believe it is only just the beginning of our story. Our story is played out in the light of a greater Story – Jesus’ Story. Scripture tells us in Jesus’ story that Nothing is Wasted, even the most tragic of situations."

Earlier this month, Blackburn said God had called him and his new wife, Kristi, to move on.

“It’s with a heavy heart, a nervous apprehension, a trusting spirit, and yet an excited anticipation for the future that I must announce that Kristi and I are stepping away as the leaders of Resonate Church. We are doing this in order to answer a call God has placed on our lives to help people from all over the world find purpose in their pain through Nothing is Wasted,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn’s first wife was fatally shot during a home invasion on Nov. 10, 2015.  He found love again with Kristi less than a year later and wed at the end of 2017.

As he grieved his wife’s passing, Blackburn tried to make sense of the death, saying, “God didn't cause this to happen but he allowed it to happen in such a way, he allowed the breath of Amanda to come out of her so that the breath could be breathed into you and into me so that we could advance the Gospel in a way that history books have never even told."

"And I believe it is going to come out of this house. I believe it is gonna come out of our house in Indianapolis. I believe in this region, God's gonna do something from the crossroads of America that's gonna scatter across America, and we're going to see a revival like we have never seen before," he added.