I'm going to summarize the events that led many to leave Bethesda recently. This church had a major split due to the extremely poor behavior of Tom Welch. He was put on forced leave after many people in the congregation/staff became concerned with his actions. I noticed these issues before they did, and was ultimately let go for calling him out on it. To this day he is still butthurt that he can't do anything to prevent me from speaking out against him leading the charge to fire me for my anti-trump posts on Facebook. While he was on leave, his conservative supporters worked endlessly to prevent the spread of information, and to keep people in the dark concerning Tom's inappropriate behavior as a Pastor. Tom abused his pastoral access by reaching out to select members withs the goal to garner undeserved sympathy by establishing himself as a victim. In this time the church president quit after being harassed by the aforementioned supporters. Additionally, the church president that came afterwards lasted a few months before quitting for the same reasons. Due to technicalities, the church could not force him to leave. A majority of the staff/volunteers left due to his behavior. Myself, the co-pastor, the church administrator, two presidents, and countless volunteers all gone. If you don't see that as a sign that Tom is a problem, then you are electively ignorant. Why is he still there? Because he gives the most conservative, and highest tithing, members validation, and vice versa. Do NOT go to this church if you are a member of the LGBT community. I worked here 11 years, and personally heard Tom more than once let me know that Bethesda would never hire a gay person, and on top of that I heard him many times cast aspersions on LGBT supporters. I know of other LGBT employees that were upset by Tom's behavior with regards to their openess. Do NOT go to this church if you believe in women's rights. Pastor Tom has, from the pulpit, praised the reversal of Roe V Wade. He also was incredibly rude to a female co-pastor, and I personally witnessed him degrading her ideas for no objectively discernable reason. She left her role at the church, and it has been made known Tom played a significant part in that. Bethesda has embraced an expiration date by not taking a stance against the side of Christianity that Tom and his followers represent. read more