Pastor Lonnie Snell’s affair hit suspended church executive like a concussion: New Life Chapel

New Life Chapel in West Chester, Ohio, has suspended an executive leader for failing to report a sexual relationship between its fired founder and senior pastor, Lonnie Snell, and a subordinate staff member, but will not disclose his identity.

Randy Thome, the church’s interim executive director, said the unnamed leader is one of the church’s six-member executive team, according to The Roys Report.

The church’s three-member external board said in a statement shared in a closed meeting with tithing members of the church that disclosing the identity of the leader who has been suspended for the remainder of the year would be inappropriate. Thome reportedly said the trauma the leader suffered after learning of the affair hit him like a concussion, and he was not himself even though he appeared normal to those around him.

After learning about the affair allegations, the board said the unnamed staffer confronted Snell, and he minimized them. The board suspended him on Oct. 29, a week after the church fired its founder.

“He simply did not determine that it was necessary to contact the board,” the statement from the board said. “While the board cannot attest to the motive or the intent behind the actions of this individual, we can attest to the decision-making skills that were displayed and conclude that they are below the standard of conduct that is expected at New Life Chapel.”

Due to the trauma experienced by the unnamed leader, Thome advocated for grace on his behalf.

“I want accountability, but I also want us to see humanity,” he said. “This whole thing is very sad, but I believe that this has been handled properly.”

New Life Chapel did not respond to a request for comment from The Christian Post on Nov. 6. According to The Roys Report, the board discovered that the suspended leader knew of the misconduct after Snell, 54, and the staff member, said to be in her 30s, were both fired, and after Snell’s wife, Ruth, was removed from the church’s website.

In an Oct. 25 statement, the church said it terminated Snell’s employment for sexual misconduct with a "subordinate of consensual age and development." Snell and his wife, Ruth, have been married for more than 23 years and, according to the church, and have four boys.

“Effective October 23, 2026, former Pastor Lonnie Snell was terminated and is no longer affiliated with New Life Chapel due to sexual misconduct with a subordinate of consensual age and development. At the present time, we are actively working diligently to maintain the highest integrity in our Pastoral staff and all leadership to effectively continue to further our mission of reaching people for Jesus,” the statement said.

“As any pressing decisions are made that would affect the mission and vision of the church at large, we will strive to keep the most current information available every step of the way.”

The church said it would conduct an investigation and asked the public to “not use this statement as liberty to conduct your own speculation or investigation; but instead, use it as time to come together in unity to pray for our church, our leadership, and our pastors.”