For many years, our media ministry at Main Street Church has worked closely alongside the Adam’s Road Ministry. We first documented the stories of the band members back in 2009 and released the DVD “Unveiling Grace” in 2011. We went on to capture and post interviews with the band members and some of their wives through our Sacred Groves channel. They also worked alongside us on several occasions as we created a training series we were developing to equip Christians to talk with LDS [1] missionaries.

We were devastated by the news of long-standing sexual immorality within the band, which was occurring even during our work on some of these very projects. It is hard to express our grief over the loss of trust that we are now experiencing. Many ministries that had enthusiastically championed the band’s efforts are now experiencing a similar sense of betrayal. Hundreds of churches who have hosted them during their fifteen years of touring are also reeling from this news. And we have deemed it necessary to discontinue all of the media that features the testimonies of the people associated with Adam’s Road (including the parties who are innocent and who were unaware).

A bit of background: in early 2024, we were contacted by band member Joseph Warren, who some months previous had come under a strong conviction from the Lord that he needed to separate himself from the band, and repent of his participation in a polyamorous heterosexual arrangement among the band members, which had been ongoing for more than a decade.  This arrangement involved all the active band members at that time, with the exception of Matt Wilder, the pianist, who was completely unaware of the situation, and was understandably devastated when it came to light. Since we played a lead role in the confrontation of the Adam’s Road leadership in April 2024, we felt it necessary to post here what we have already announced in public. [2] 

As far as we know, those closest to the ministry who were unaware include: Matt Wilder (Micah’s brother and keyboardist in the band) and his family; Joseph’s wife Katie, who is also Micah and Matt’s sister; parents Michael and Lynn Wilder; and hotel volunteers Hannah and Lillie. The shock and trauma for these who so faithfully co-labored closely the ministry is unimaginable. Their healing dominates our prayers.

In addition to this decade-long sexual arrangement, there existed a persistent homosexual influence from a much older adult male who has been at the center of the ministry since its inception in 2006. He had gained prominence as the band members’ erstwhile “prophet” during their missionary days with the LDS church, and later positioned himself as the band’s patron. In 2013, Steve Kay, one of the founding members of the band, abruptly left the band in disgust after being propositioned by this man. This older man was welcomed as an insider to the band’s operations and exercised a powerful influence over its plans and finances for eighteen years. The band’s inclusion of him in its operational decisions remains a troubling mystery.

The fabric of Adam’s Road has had a thread of deep corruption woven into it from its start in 2006; it seems that Satan’s groundwork for sexual sin had been laid at its inception and, in the last decade especially, it had become brazenly embraced.

Two lessons arise out of this travesty. First, it raises the question of why Matt Wilder was spared from the sin. In our estimation, this is due in large part to the fact that he and his family joined a local church body early on (as had his parents Michael and Lynn). As a result, he gained not only Biblical knowledge to reverse a lifetime of Mormon teaching, but also benefitted from the accountability and grounding that involvement in a church community provides. Additionally, he had distanced himself and his family from the influence of the older adult male, including by moving out of the hotel where the other band members lived.

Second, this serves as a warning about the danger of new converts entering prematurely into the limelight of public ministry. The Apostle Paul’s lengthy absence from the first pages of the book of Acts underscores the need for seasoning, maturing, and in many cases, retraining of those whom God calls to send out.

We want to publicly endorse two ongoing ministries whose fruitfulness has been untarnished by this tragedy. Matt Wilder’s piano ministry, "Hands and Feet Piano Ministry", will continue to bless many as he weaves scriptures with his extraordinary musical gifts. In the same way, Mike and Lynn Wilder’s ministry, Ex-Mormons United for Jesus, will continue to uniquely educate and encourage Christians to lovingly reach out to the Mormon community.

Our love for every member of the band is undeterred. Our objective in this announcement is not to condemn any person, but to bring the light of Christ into a place of darkness. After all, who among us could stand if God kept account of our iniquities (Psalm 130:3)? We are thankful that God has seen fit to lovingly uncover this sin, despite the pain of the ensuing trauma. Sin steals life. It kills. It spawns a cohort of dark accessories like lying, secrecy and deceit. But light kills sin. So there is no good reason to hide or overlook sin when our wounded life is bleeding out because of it.

By God’s spirit, forgiveness can be immediate; but the restoration of trust comes more slowly. We encourage you to join with us in the former and to patiently wait on God’s timing for the latter. While the Body of Christ is populated entirely by forgiven sinners (indeed they are welcomed!), the restoration of a leader to a prominent role is problematic. Paul’s letters are especially insistent about the issue of reproach (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6-8). When a leader willfully embraces a lifestyle of sin while acting in the name of God, the strict requirement of being “above reproach” may prevent their return to leadership for a very long period, possibly a lifetime.

Our prayer for our beloved friends in the band is that they will patiently submit to God’s timetable in order for the cleansing process of grief and renewal to have its full redemptive effect. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. His love is indeed everlasting, even enduring through our seasons of sin.

And we pray that their broken hearts will find mending heretofore unknown to them. As a result, we are confident that God will lead them to a newfound discovery of the breathtaking expanse of His grace. 

Links to Public Statements:

Joseph Warren: adamsroadconfession.com

Micah Wilder: passporttoheavenbook.com