Tony Evans' Son Opens Up about the Heartbreak of His Father Leaving Ministry
- Milton Quintanilla Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Jan 03, 2025
The son of Dr. Tony Evans recently recalled how hearing the news that his father would be stepping down from ministry due to an unnamed sin he committed years ago felt like a "punch to the gut."
"It was a shock to us … he told us that he's going to take a step back from ministry, go to a time of healing and restoration — a time that he needs," Jonathan Evans, who serves as an associate pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas(OCBF), said in a video reflecting on the challenges he faced in 2024.
"We're all praying for his restoration, recovery, and for him to be fully back doing what he loves to do and what he's called to do."
According to The Christian Post, the younger Evans, who serves as team chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys, revealed that the news of his father's decision to step back from ministry in June was a "sharp change" for him personally and caused him to "recalibrate."
"He has been doing [ministry] since I was born, so I don't know anything different," he said, adding that at the time, he studied Psalms 46, which states that "God is our refuge and strength, our very present help in time of trouble."
"So I need you to understand that God is with you. He's with you, even though you don't feel like He's with you," he said. "When my dad stepped back from ministry and stepped down from the pulpit, I needed this. I needed to know God is my refuge. God is my strength, and He's very present."
"Be still doesn't mean don't move. Be still doesn't mean be physically irresponsible," he added. "Be still means that you can be emotionally steady. Be still doesn't mean stop stepping. It means stop stressing. But do what God has called you to do with an unwavering confidence that He is God."
"So yeah," he continued, "when my dad stepped down, it was a punch to the gut for me [and] my siblings. …God says, 'Be still. I'm still God. Do not fear. Do not be afraid. I've already won.' Just because there's bumps along the way doesn't mean victory hasn't already been had."
Last June, Tony Evans announced he would be stepping away from the pulpit after 48 years of ministry due to an undisclosed sin he committed years ago.
"The foundation of our ministry has always been our commitment to the Word of God as the absolute supreme standard of truth to which we are to conform our lives. When we fall short of that standard due to sin, we are required to repent and restore our relationship with God," Evans said in a statement at the time.
The disclosure was made a few months after he married Carla Crummie in a "private ceremony surrounded by family and close friends" in December 2023, four years after his first wife, Lois, had passed away from biliary cancer at the age of 70.
During a Father's Day sermon days after his father's announcement, Jonathan Evans asserted that his father will make a triumphant return to the pulpit.
"Let me tell you, let me put it this way: my dad has been there for all of my challenges. Yes sir, he's been there for a lot of y'all [s] challenges, whether it's counseling, whether it's preaching, radio, some of y'all YouTube, whatever medium [it] has been, he's been there, so it's an honor for me to return the favor," Jonathan Evans told the congregation.
"People have been asking me all week, 'How do you feel?' Let me tell you, I feel like we've already won. I feel like we're on offense, not defense. I feel like we already have victory. I feel like His Word is true. I feel like He's going to finish the work that He started. I feel like if it's not good yet, God's not done yet. I feel like all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. I feel like just because it's a shock to you doesn't mean it's a shock to Him," he added.
"I feel like we have already won. And so, I have to go not based on just the circumstances but based on the reality of the Savior because His Word is true. So what are we going to do? We [are] going to play offense. We're going to go and do and be what God has called us to go and do and be. And when he returns, when my dad returns, when that time comes, we going to celebrate a victory we already knew beforehand that we had."
WATCH: Jonathan Evans Reflects on Dad Dr. Tony Evans Stepping Away from Ministry
