Leadership Accountability Primary Source Evidence Institutional Cover- 15 2026 update
The Church That Investigated Itself: An Open Letter Demanding Independent Accountability at Blessed Hope Chapel
In September 2025, members of Blessed Hope Chapel sent a letter to Joe Schimmel and the elder board demanding an independent investigation. The letter was widely circulated. Leadership never responded. What follows is not merely the contents of that letter — it is the full investigative record of what happened before it was written, what happened after it was ignored, and why more than 30 families ultimately walked out the door.
The Berean Examiner · Investigative Staff
Original: March 27, 2026 · Updated: June 15, 2026
Simi Valley, California
Multiple members of Blessed Hope Chapel — whistleblowers with a collective decades of service inside the church — sent a letter to the elder board calling for an independent investigation into allegations of pastoral misconduct, cover-up, and unaccountable leadership. The document was widely circulated among the congregation. Leadership never responded.
We have obtained the original document. We have verified its authenticity. But this article is no longer merely a repository for that letter — it is a full investigative reconstruction of how a church with no accountability structure, led by a pastor who had built a public ministry on exposing corruption in others, allowed allegations against his own daughter to go uninvestigated, deployed a false narrative to protect the institution, and lost more than half its congregation in the aftermath.
What follows is organized by what the evidence shows — not by when we discovered it, but by how the story actually unfolded. Each section builds on the one before it. By the end, the question is not whether something went wrong at Blessed Hope Chapel. The question is whether the structure that allowed it to go wrong still exists.
Section 1
The Governance Trap — One Family, Every Lever of Power
Before any allegation can be evaluated, the structure that received those allegations must be understood. The governance architecture at Blessed Hope Chapel was not merely "a church with family in leadership." It was a closed fiduciary loop — a self-reinforcing system where the accused, the investigator, the judge, the jury, the treasurer, and the appeal court were all the same family. This was not a situation where an investigation was botched. This was a situation where an investigation was structurally impossible.
Structural Analysis: The Closed Fiduciary Loop
Pastor Joe Schimmel
Senior Pastor · Final Authority
Father of the Accused Father-in-Law of Complicit Elder Husband of Financial Controller
Lisa Schimmel
De Facto Financial Controller
Handles All Finances Zero Oversight
Chad Davidson
Elder · Youth Pastor
Son-in-Law of Joe Husband of the Accused
Holly Davidson
Subject of Misconduct Allegations
Daughter of Joe Daughter of Lisa Wife of Chad
One family holds every lever of institutional power. The accused, the investigator, the judge, the jury, and the treasurer are the same people.
"Imagine going to court where the judge is the defendant's dad, the jury foreman is her husband, the court treasurer is her mother, and the bailiff who blocks the exits is her brother. You would never call that a fair trial. You would call it a family meeting. That is what Blessed Hope Chapel asked its congregation to accept as accountability."
No Independent Judge
The senior pastor was the accused's father. Any internal "investigation" was predetermined — Joe Schimmel was never going to find his own daughter guilty, and Chad Davidson was never going to find his own wife guilty.
No Independent Treasurer
Lisa Schimmel handled all church finances with zero oversight. Any investigation that touched finances would threaten Lisa's financial control. The family had a direct financial incentive to suppress any outside inquiry.
No Independent Appeal
There was no outside board, no denominational oversight, no external accountability body above Joe Schimmel. The church was a closed system. The family was the institution.
No Witness Protection
Whistleblowers were subjected to multi-hour leadership meetings, publicly marked "to avoid" from the pulpit, and character-assassinated at a men's retreat. The closed loop actively punished those who sought investigation.
This is not a governance failure. This is a governance design. No amount of internal process could have produced justice when every lever of institutional power was held by the family of the accused. The only mechanism that could have broken the loop — an independent, third-party investigation — was the one mechanism that Joe Schimmel, Chad Davidson, and the elder board refused at every turn.
Section 2
The Predator Lie — The Smoking Gun May 13, 2025
If the governance trap explains how everything else was possible, the Predator Lie is what the governance trap was built to protect. It is, by a significant margin, the single most legally and morally damning angle in the entire investigative record — and it was buried as a single bullet point in the original publication of this article. That was a mistake. Here it is in full.
On May 13, 2025, Joe Schimmel did multiple things in rapid succession. He left a voicemail for a family stating — in his own voice — that the church had "a case of sexual assault against the guy." He sent text messages to multiple families branding a young male congregant a "predator." He told former congregants the same accusation in person and allegedly by phone.
What Joe Schimmel did not do is file a police report. What he did not do is tell the young man's family what he was telling others. What he did not do is tell the congregation that Holly Davidson herself later reportedly denied any assault occurred. The accusation was deployed strategically — not to protect anyone, but to construct a narrative. By branding the young congregant a predator, Joe Schimmel reframed Holly Davidson from the subject of the congregation's concerns into a victim, and reframed the young man from a congregant seeking accountability into a threat.
The Two Doors — No Third Exit
Door One
The allegation was true. Joe Schimmel had credible knowledge that a sexual assault occurred. He told multiple families. He left a voicemail stating it plainly.
Conclusion: Joe Schimmel violated California Penal Code 11166 — the state's mandatory reporting law. As a pastor in California, he is a mandated reporter of known or reasonably suspected child abuse and sexual assault. He filed no police report. This is a crime.
Door Two
The allegation was false. Joe Schimmel fabricated or exaggerated a sexual assault accusation to neutralize a young congregant who was asking uncomfortable questions. Holly Davidson herself later reportedly denied any assault occurred.
Conclusion: Joe Schimmel committed defamation per se under California law. Falsely accusing someone of a crime to third parties is the textbook definition. Damages are presumed — no need to prove specific financial loss. Text messages to multiple families constitute libel, the more serious form of defamation. Each communication to each recipient is a separate publication, multiplying his civil exposure.
There is no third door. Joe Schimmel cannot walk through Door One — doing so admits he violated California's mandatory reporting law. He cannot walk through Door Two — doing so admits he committed defamation per se against a young congregant. Either he broke the law, or he exposed himself to a lawsuit for destroying a young man's reputation with a knowingly false accusation. His silence protects him from neither.
On the same day Joe Schimmel was branding a young congregant a predator, his own network pastor Jonathan Ball was privately documenting that Holly Davidson "failed in having good boundaries" and that Chad Davidson "asked for forgiveness for his failures." The senior pastor was constructing a narrative of victim-as-aggressor while one of his own network pastors was writing the truth that would ultimately expose that narrative as false. The congregation heard only the weapon. May 13, 2025 was not merely a day when a pastor made an accusation. It was the date the official narrative and the documented truth split into two irreconcilable directions — and the people in the pews were never told.
Direct Quotes — Pastor Jonathan Ball's Written Correspondence (May 13, 2025)
"Holly has … stated her failures."
"She did fail in having good boundaries."
Source: Written correspondence from Pastor Jonathan Ball. Original document on file with The Berean Examiner. Ball's correspondence concludes that both Holly Davidson and Chad Davidson sinned — a conclusion the church leadership has never publicly acknowledged.
What the Evidence Shows
1. Joe Schimmel left a voicemail on or around May 13, 2025 stating the church had "a case of sexual assault against the guy." The voicemail exists.
2. Joe Schimmel spread the accusation through multiple channels — text messages, voicemail, in-person conversations, and allegedly by phone. Multiple recipients across all four channels have independently confirmed receiving the same claim.
3. No police report was filed by Joe Schimmel or by Blessed Hope Chapel leadership. If a sexual assault had actually occurred, California law required reporting. No report exists.
4. Holly Davidson reportedly denied any assault occurred. The alleged "victim" herself did not corroborate the claim being used to destroy a young man's reputation.
5. The young man's family was not informed of the accusation being circulated about their son. They learned of it from other families who had received the texts.
The Question Joe Schimmel Cannot Answer
Did he fail to report a sexual assault to law enforcement — a criminal offense? Or did he commit defamation per se by falsely accusing a young congregant to multiple families — exposing himself to civil liability with damages presumed by law? Joe Schimmel has never publicly addressed this question. He has never apologized to the young man he branded a predator. He has never explained why he told multiple families about a sexual assault but filed no police report.
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." — Exodus 20:16
Section 3
The Men Who Cemented the False Narrative — Joe Bokaie & Brian StegallNamed & Confirmed
It is one thing for a pastor to construct a false narrative from the platform. It is another for that pastor to be joined by other men who lend their credibility to the effort — transforming one man's deflection into what multiple attendees have described as a coordinated character assassination. At what was billed as a men's retreat on biblical manhood and spiritual warfare, two men from one of BHC's satellite groups stepped forward to align with — and amplify — Joe Schimmel's narrative against an absent family. Their names are Joe Bokaie and Brian Stegall.
The Men's Retreat — What Happened
At approximately 66 men gathered for what was described as a retreat focused on spiritual growth, Pastor Joe Schimmel dedicated more than 1.5 hours to a sustained negative portrayal of a specific family that had recently ended its affiliation with the church. The family was not present to defend themselves. Holly Davidson was never mentioned. The young congregant was never mentioned. The unresolved sexual misconduct allegations were never mentioned. The family's actual reason for leaving — the refusal of an independent, third-party investigation — was never mentioned.
Instead, the absent family was reframed as divisive, rebellious, and spiritually immature. And they were not the only ones speaking. Joe Bokaie and Brian Stegall, two men from one of BHC's satellite groups — reportedly seeking to gain favor with Pastor Joe — allegedly joined in and fabricated additional false accusations against the family. What began as one pastor's deflection became, in the words of multiple attendees, a coordinated effort to destroy the family's reputation before they could tell their own story.
Recording Obtained — Currently Under Editorial Analysis
The Berean Examiner has obtained a recording of this men's retreat session. Multiple attendees of that retreat have independently confirmed that the statements made by Pastor Joe Schimmel, Joe Bokaie, and Brian Stegall about the absent family were false — and that what transpired in that room was not a pastoral address. Multiple men have described it as blatant slander delivered from a position of spiritual authority, against people who were given no opportunity to defend themselves. The recording was subsequently distributed to a wide circle of men by Tony Palacio, a longtime associate of Good Fight Ministries — ensuring that the false statements reached an audience far beyond those present in the room. Joe Bokaie and Brian Stegall made those statements. Tony Palacio chose to spread them. All three know who they are. So do we.
The Split
The retreat session reportedly split even the family's home fellowship group — some members accepted the narrative presented and remained at BHC, while others recognized the manipulation and left alongside the family. The relational fallout, according to multiple former members, continues to this day.
The Realization
Many attendees left the session troubled and disagreed with how the matter was handled — but without enough context to fully articulate why. It was only later, after more families left for the same documented reasons and word spread about what had actually occurred, that the retreat session finally made sense to those who had been in the room.
Key Figures in the Retreat Session
Joe Schimmel
Led the session for 1.5+ hours
Joe Bokaie
BHC satellite group — aligned with narrative
Brian Stegall
BHC satellite group — amplified false accusations
"In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines." — Proverbs 18:17
The family was not present. They could not cross-examine. The pastor held the floor, the audience, and the spiritual authority — and used all three against people who had no voice in the room. Bokaie and Stegall ensured the narrative had more than one mouthpiece.
Section 4
The Mass Exodus — A Congregation Votes With Its Feet 30+ Families Gone
As of January 2026, more than 30 families — representing upwards of 50 individuals — have reportedly left Blessed Hope Chapel Simi Valley. Many cite the same reasons: the unresolved allegations against Holly Davidson, the elder board's refusal to authorize an independent investigation, and a leadership culture in which raising these concerns was treated not as faithfulness but as disloyalty. This was not one disgruntled family. This was a congregation walking out the door.
The departures included long-serving staff members — people who worked alongside Joe Schimmel and Chad Davidson daily, those with the clearest view of the dysfunction. Their departure is its own form of testimony. These were not critics from the outside looking in. These were insiders who saw the rot from the closest possible vantage point and concluded it could not be reformed from within.
Written Prediction — September 2025
"We fear the result to be a split in the church, or worse, the complete dissolution of the Simi Valley church fellowship."
As of January 2026: The prediction was not pessimism. It was a diagnosis. And it was accurate.
Former Staff & Congregants
16 Documented Concerns Against Chad Davidson
The following catalog is drawn from accounts provided to The Berean Examiner by former members and former staff of Blessed Hope Chapel — people who worked alongside Chad Davidson, served under his leadership, or entrusted their children to his youth ministry.
Spotlight: Big Bear Youth Retreat Disaster — June 2024
Date: June 10–14, 2024
Location: Big Bear Lake Christian Camp
Organizers: Chad & Holly Davidson
The "Abundant Life Youth Retreat" was hosted through Good Fight Ministries for Christian youth ages 14–19. Families from across the country sent their children based on the Davidsons' ministry reputations — and were not warned that Chad would bring non-believing wrestlers from his athletic program into an overnight retreat with their minor daughters.
1. Chad abandoned his own retreat — brought non-believing wrestlers, spent the majority of the event with them, left remaining staff without direction.
2. A near-incident at night — a young male was discovered leading a young girl away from the group. The intervention came from another youth, then a parent call back home, and a single Simi Valley parent volunteer — not leadership.
3. Lasting harm — after camp, a young girl was pursued by a wrestler (nonbeliever) and went through a serious personal struggle. Her mother sought help from Chad and Holly, who made her feel the problem was entirely hers.
4, Zero corrective action — Chad Davidson continues in youth ministry. Parents at any congregation he serves have not been informed of what occurred at Big Bear.
The single most alarming fact: Chad Davidson remains in youth ministry today — and parents have not been told what happened under his supervision.
1. Ignored staff members who pleaded with him directly — former staff members raised pleas for accountability face-to-face and were ignored.
2. Refused an independent investigation — despite multiple families formally requesting a third-party review, Chad declined to advocate for the one measure that would have resolved the matter.
3. Dismissed Scripture-based concerns — when a couple confronted Chad directly with 1 Timothy 3:4–5 before departing in 2024, he was completely indifferent.
4. Failed household governance — children chronically unruly and disruptive in church gatherings; hygiene observed as filthy on numerous occasions.
5. Permitted his wife's inappropriate attire and demeanor — tight, low-cut, sexually provocative clothing worn openly before teenage boys and young male wrestlers she helped lead.
6. Enabled public misconduct — Holly's conduct was observable at public wrestling events, in Costa Rica (string bikini, surrounded by men from the church), and across social media.
Ignored boundary violations — Holly's conduct toward a young male congregant at the center of the allegations; her own written letter contained admissions that made her sound like the aggressor.
8. Remained passively silent — across every setting documented, Chad was present or aware and took no corrective action.
9. Exploded in anger on trips — witnesses describe an explosive confrontation from Chad during the Costa Rica trip.
10. Prioritized non-believing wrestlers — youth gatherings dominated by wrestlers rather than church youth; "elite wrestlers" expected to follow Chad to church.
11. Neglected retreat oversight — at Big Bear, Chad spent the majority of his time with wrestlers while youth went without adequate supervision.
12. Failed to intervene — the near-incident at Big Bear was averted by a teenager and a parent volunteer, not by any designated leader.
13. Left staff unsupported — one parent volunteer had to fill the gaps that Chad and Holly left at the Big Bear retreat.
14. Dismissed a concerned mother — after the Big Bear retreat, a mother whose daughter was pursued by a wrestler was made to feel the problem was entirely hers.
15. Refused to resign — despite the documented catalog of concerns, the mass exodus, and the elders' own internal findings, Chad Davidson has remained in youth ministry.
Former Staff & Congregants
33 Documented Concerns Against Joe Schimmel
The following catalog is drawn from accounts provided to The Berean Examiner by former members and former staff of Blessed Hope Chapel. Where Chad Davidson's failures were failures of a youth pastor and elder, Joe Schimmel's failures are failures of the Senior Pastor — the man who held ultimate authority, who could have intervened at any point, and who chose not to.
1. Lied from the pulpit — claimed he had never argued with anyone in 30+ years of ministry, directly contradicted by numerous former staff.
2. Called himself "top of the pyramid" in a public assembly — declared himself the apex of BHC's authority structure before a packed Monday Night Meeting.
3. No accountability structure above him — for 30 years, Joe Schimmel has held unilateral authority with no outside board or external oversight.
4. Called a young congregant a "predator" via voicemail and text message — without filing any police report or formal charge.
5. Claimed a sexual assault occurred — yet filed no police report, produced no victim statement, and The Berean Examiner found zero record of law enforcement contact.
6. Refused independent investigation repeatedly — the refusal became the central grievance of the exodus of 50+ people.
7. Shielded daughter Holly from accountability — serving simultaneously as her senior pastor and her father.
8. Weaponized the men's retreat against a departing family — dedicated 1.5+ hours to a sustained negative portrayal, assisted by Joe Bokaie and Brian Stegall.
9. Marked former members as "to avoid" publicly — at the Dec 8, 2025 Monday Night Meeting.
10. Spun departing families' stories inaccurately from the pulpit — retold stories labeling departing families as "immature, unstable, disgruntled."
11. Never disclosed annual financial reports — multiple long-term congregants confirmed no financial report was ever shared.
12. Wife Lisa Schimmel handles all church finances with zero oversight.
13. Son-in-law Chad Davidson serves as elder — nepotism unchecked.
14. Pressured an elderly man (80+ years old) to sign a false affidavit.
15. Knew Jonathan Ball's criminal record — 2002 conviction for making a false report to law enforcement — yet elevated him to associate pastor anyway.
16. Lisa Schimmel exercised de facto pastoral authority with no formal office or accountability.
17. Contradicted his own pastor's (Ball's) written findings — Ball wrote Holly "failed in having good boundaries," then Lisa's later letter claimed "Holly had not sinned."
18. Never apologized through the entire mass exodus of 50+ people.
19. Publicly exalted "Larry Legend" from the pulpit despite documented coercion of a female evangelist.
20. Failed to govern his household — Lisa acted unilaterally in the beach meeting, never bringing the matter to her husband or elders.
21. Church now meets in a Seventh Day Adventist facility — paying monthly rent to a denomination he would have labeled a false-teaching cult.
22. Built a discernment empire while practicing institutional cover-up.
23. Selective discipline — one elder was punished while another (family-connected) was protected.
24. Josiah Schimmel and Lisa Schimmel actively concealed Holly's conduct from Chad.
25. Misled donors with a fake "books were checked" assurance.
26. Publishes on his own church website: "We meet in the Seventh Day Adventist church."
27. Traded doctrinal conviction for a room to meet in.
28. Cannot sustain his own church building — the mass exodus depleted the congregation.
29. The financial irony — monthly rent checks from a "discernment" ministry now flow into SDA coffers.
30. "You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?" — Romans 2:22 applied with surgical precision.
31. "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" — yoked via the most tangible bond: a lease agreement.
32. The man who demanded accountability from every other Christian leader now sits in a pew rented from an institution he spent decades warning Christians to reject.
33. "If the salt loses its saltiness, what is it good for?" — the SDA rental is the public proof that institutional survival now trumps every doctrinal line he ever drew.
The question these thirty-three concerns raise is not subtle: If Joe Schimmel could not govern his own household, could not address his daughter's documented boundary violations, could not ensure the safety of youth at his own ministry events, could not bring himself to authorize an independent investigation when the structural conflict of interest was obvious to everyone — on what basis does he continue to hold the office of Senior Pastor under 1 Timothy 3:4–5?
Section 5
The Men Joe Schimmel Empowered
A pastor's judgment is measured not only by how he handles his own conduct, but by whom he chooses to place in positions of spiritual authority. Joe Schimmel's pattern of elevating compromised men to leadership — while never disclosing their documented failures to the congregations affected — constitutes a separate and compounding failure of pastoral stewardship.
Jonathan Ball
Overseer — Ensenada Church / BHC NetworkCriminal Record
2002: Convicted under California Penal Code 148.9 for making a false report of a criminal offense — a crime of intentional dishonesty to law enforcement.
~2021: Allegedly attempted to recruit a church member into a straw firearm purchase — citing his own criminal record and wanting to "test the system."
Joe Schimmel reportedly knew and took no action, subsequently elevating Ball to oversee the Ensenada church without ever disclosing his criminal record.
The irony: Ball's May 13, 2025 letter became the single most important internal corroboration of the allegations. That the truth came from a convicted liar is its own commentary on the institution.
Chad Davidson
Elder / Youth Pastor — Blessed Hope Chapel Disqualified Under 1 Tim 3
Failed household governance — children chronically unruly, hygiene observed as filthy; a couple confronted him with 1 Timothy 3:4–5, he was indifferent.
Permitted his wife's publicly observable boundary violations across multiple settings without correction.
Alleged abusive conduct on international outreach trips and neglected oversight at Big Bear resulting in a near-incident and lasting harm.
Jonathan Ball's letter confirmed Chad "asked for forgiveness" — yet the official church position shifted to claiming he had done nothing wrong. Chad remains in youth ministry.
The pattern is unmistakable: Joe Schimmel surrounded himself with people who could not — or would not — hold him accountable. A convicted liar was made an overseer. His son-in-law, biblically disqualified, was installed as elder. His wife controlled the finances with no oversight. A man who coerced a female evangelist was endorsed from the pulpit. This was not poor judgment. This was governance designed to resist accountability.
Section 6
The SDA Rental: Selling Your Theological Birthright for a Room to Meet In
On April 12, 2026, Blessed Hope Chapel held its first service at the Simi Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church. The man who built a ministry warning Christians about false teaching now writes monthly rent checks to a denomination whose core doctrines — soul sleep, mandatory Sabbath-keeping, investigative judgment, the prophetic authority of Ellen G. White — Good Fight Ministries has historically identified as serious theological error.
SDA Doctrine
Soul sleep, investigative judgment (1844), Saturday Sabbath binding on Christians, Ellen G. White's writings as prophetic authority — doctrines the vast majority of evangelical Christianity has historically identified as serious theological error.
Good Fight Ministries' Public Position
GFM has built its brand on exposing what it identifies as false teaching. Its documentary films have explicitly warned about Seventh-day Adventism's distinctive doctrines, categorizing them as incompatible with orthodox Christian belief.
This is not a case of a church renting from a generic community center. This is a doctrinal discernment ministry financially sustaining the very denomination it was built to refute. The money that once funded exposés of false teachers now subsidizes them. Romans 2:21–22 applies with surgical precision: "You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?"
Livestream Questions Shut Down
During the April 12, 2026 service, as viewers in the livestream chat reportedly began asking why the church was meeting in an SDA facility, those questions were allegedly shut down quickly — the same pattern observed throughout the cover-up of the Holly Davidson allegations.
"You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?" — Romans 2:21–22
Ongoing Investigation
What We're Still Investigating
Has Joe Schimmel or any member of the BHC elder board ever formally responded to the charges in this letter?
What happened to the proceeds of the Blessed Hope Chapel land sale?
Were any formal disciplinary proceedings ever initiated regarding Holly Davidson?
Was the elder board aware of Pastor Jonathan Ball's internal inquiry findings — and if so, when did they become aware and what action did they take?
What role did Lisa Schimmel and Josiah play in how information about Holly's conduct was communicated — or withheld?
How many families have left Blessed Hope Chapel since September 2025, and what have they been told?
Is the financial picture at Good Fight Ministries — $237,823 in undisclosed salaries and an 85% asset drop — connected to the leadership crisis?
If you have direct knowledge of any of these questions, we want to hear from you. All tips are confidential.Submit a Tip
1. Ten Formal Charges — Presented to the Elder Board
2. Selective discipline — one elder punished, another protected
Pastor Joe's daughter. Pastor Chad's wife. Holly Davidson allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct that would have — and did — remove others from this church. Under 1 Timothy 3, an elder must manage his own household well. Chad Davidson did not. His continued role as elder is itself a charge.
3. Schimmel (Pastor Joe's wife) & Josiah Schimmel (Pastor Joe's son) concealed Holly's conduct from Chad
4. Joe endorsed public deception from the pulpit — Larry Legend publicly exalted despite coercing a female evangelist
5. Congregants misled about proceeds of a church land sale — funds' destination never accounted for
6. Men's retreat weaponized — a whole message delivered against an absent family, turning a spiritual gathering into a character assassination
7. The discernment minister who missed everything in his own house — Joe's public gift of discernment not applied within his own congregation
8. No accountability structure above Joe — the accused held sole authority to decide whether the accusations received a hearing
9. Zeal as trump card — enthusiasm and family connection repeatedly overrode normal disciplinary processes
10. Lisa Schimmel exercised de facto co-pastoral authority with no formal office, no accountability structure, and no congregational consent
People Named in This Investigation
Pastor Joe Schimmel
Senior Pastor, Blessed Hope Chapel; founder and director of Good Fight MinistriesView Case File
Lisa Schimmel
Wife of Pastor Joe Schimmel. De facto financial controller with zero oversight.
Josiah Schimmel
Son of Pastor Joe Schimmel. Alleged to have concealed Holly's conduct from Chad.
Holly Davidson
Daughter of Joe Schimmel; wife of Chad Davidson. Subject of the misconduct allegations.
Pastor Chad Davidson
Elder, Blessed Hope Chapel; husband of Holly Davidson. Remains in youth ministry.View Case File
Joe Bokaie
BHC satellite group member. Collaborated with Joe Schimmel at the men's retreat to cement a false narrative against an absent family.
Brian Stegall
BHC satellite group member. Allegedly fabricated additional false accusations against the family at the men's retreat.
Tony Palacio
Longtime associate of Good Fight Ministries. Distributed the men's retreat recording to a wide circle of men.
Pastor Jonathan Ball
BHC network pastor. Conducted internal inquiry concluding Holly and Chad sinned. Has a 2002 criminal conviction for making a false report to law enforcement.
As of January 2026, more than 30 families — representing upwards of 50 individuals — have reportedly left Blessed Hope Chapel Simi Valley. Many cite the same reasons: the unresolved allegations against Holly Davidson, the elder board's refusal to authorize an independent investigation, and a leadership culture in which raising these concerns was treated not as faithfulness but as disloyalty. This was not one disgruntled family. This was a congregation walking out the door.
The departures included long-serving staff members — people who worked alongside Joe Schimmel and Chad Davidson daily, those with the clearest view of the dysfunction. Their departure is its own form of testimony. These were not critics from the outside looking in. These were insiders who saw the rot from the closest possible vantage point and concluded it could not be reformed from within.
Written Prediction — September 2025
"We fear the result to be a split in the church, or worse, the complete dissolution of the Simi Valley church fellowship."
As of January 2026: The prediction was not pessimism. It was a diagnosis. And it was accurate.
Former Staff & Congregants
16 Documented Concerns Against Chad Davidson
The following catalog is drawn from accounts provided to The Berean Examiner by former members and former staff of Blessed Hope Chapel — people who worked alongside Chad Davidson, served under his leadership, or entrusted their children to his youth ministry.
Spotlight: Big Bear Youth Retreat Disaster — June 2024
Date: June 10–14, 2024
Location: Big Bear Lake Christian Camp
Organizers: Chad & Holly Davidson
The "Abundant Life Youth Retreat" was hosted through Good Fight Ministries for Christian youth ages 14–19. Families from across the country sent their children based on the Davidsons' ministry reputations — and were not warned that Chad would bring non-believing wrestlers from his athletic program into an overnight retreat with their minor daughters.
1. Chad abandoned his own retreat — brought non-believing wrestlers, spent the majority of the event with them, left remaining staff without direction.
2. A near-incident at night — a young male was discovered leading a young girl away from the group. The intervention came from another youth, then a parent call back home, and a single Simi Valley parent volunteer — not leadership.
3. Lasting harm — after camp, a young girl was pursued by a wrestler (nonbeliever) and went through a serious personal struggle. Her mother sought help from Chad and Holly, who made her feel the problem was entirely hers.
4, Zero corrective action — Chad Davidson continues in youth ministry. Parents at any congregation he serves have not been informed of what occurred at Big Bear.
The single most alarming fact: Chad Davidson remains in youth ministry today — and parents have not been told what happened under his supervision.
1. Ignored staff members who pleaded with him directly — former staff members raised pleas for accountability face-to-face and were ignored.
2. Refused an independent investigation — despite multiple families formally requesting a third-party review, Chad declined to advocate for the one measure that would have resolved the matter.
3. Dismissed Scripture-based concerns — when a couple confronted Chad directly with 1 Timothy 3:4–5 before departing in 2024, he was completely indifferent.
4. Failed household governance — children chronically unruly and disruptive in church gatherings; hygiene observed as filthy on numerous occasions.
5. Permitted his wife's inappropriate attire and demeanor — tight, low-cut, sexually provocative clothing worn openly before teenage boys and young male wrestlers she helped lead.
6. Enabled public misconduct — Holly's conduct was observable at public wrestling events, in Costa Rica (string bikini, surrounded by men from the church), and across social media.
Ignored boundary violations — Holly's conduct toward a young male congregant at the center of the allegations; her own written letter contained admissions that made her sound like the aggressor.
8. Remained passively silent — across every setting documented, Chad was present or aware and took no corrective action.
9. Exploded in anger on trips — witnesses describe an explosive confrontation from Chad during the Costa Rica trip.
10. Prioritized non-believing wrestlers — youth gatherings dominated by wrestlers rather than church youth; "elite wrestlers" expected to follow Chad to church.
11. Neglected retreat oversight — at Big Bear, Chad spent the majority of his time with wrestlers while youth went without adequate supervision.
12. Failed to intervene — the near-incident at Big Bear was averted by a teenager and a parent volunteer, not by any designated leader.
13. Left staff unsupported — one parent volunteer had to fill the gaps that Chad and Holly left at the Big Bear retreat.
14. Dismissed a concerned mother — after the Big Bear retreat, a mother whose daughter was pursued by a wrestler was made to feel the problem was entirely hers.
15. Refused to resign — despite the documented catalog of concerns, the mass exodus, and the elders' own internal findings, Chad Davidson has remained in youth ministry.
Former Staff & Congregants
33 Documented Concerns Against Joe Schimmel
The following catalog is drawn from accounts provided to The Berean Examiner by former members and former staff of Blessed Hope Chapel. Where Chad Davidson's failures were failures of a youth pastor and elder, Joe Schimmel's failures are failures of the Senior Pastor — the man who held ultimate authority, who could have intervened at any point, and who chose not to.
1. Lied from the pulpit — claimed he had never argued with anyone in 30+ years of ministry, directly contradicted by numerous former staff.
2. Called himself "top of the pyramid" in a public assembly — declared himself the apex of BHC's authority structure before a packed Monday Night Meeting.
3. No accountability structure above him — for 30 years, Joe Schimmel has held unilateral authority with no outside board or external oversight.
4. Called a young congregant a "predator" via voicemail and text message — without filing any police report or formal charge.
5. Claimed a sexual assault occurred — yet filed no police report, produced no victim statement, and The Berean Examiner found zero record of law enforcement contact.
6. Refused independent investigation repeatedly — the refusal became the central grievance of the exodus of 50+ people.
7. Shielded daughter Holly from accountability — serving simultaneously as her senior pastor and her father.
8. Weaponized the men's retreat against a departing family — dedicated 1.5+ hours to a sustained negative portrayal, assisted by Joe Bokaie and Brian Stegall.
9. Marked former members as "to avoid" publicly — at the Dec 8, 2025 Monday Night Meeting.
10. Spun departing families' stories inaccurately from the pulpit — retold stories labeling departing families as "immature, unstable, disgruntled."
11. Never disclosed annual financial reports — multiple long-term congregants confirmed no financial report was ever shared.
12. Wife Lisa Schimmel handles all church finances with zero oversight.
13. Son-in-law Chad Davidson serves as elder — nepotism unchecked.
14. Pressured an elderly man (80+ years old) to sign a false affidavit.
15. Knew Jonathan Ball's criminal record — 2002 conviction for making a false report to law enforcement — yet elevated him to associate pastor anyway.
16. Lisa Schimmel exercised de facto pastoral authority with no formal office or accountability.
17. Contradicted his own pastor's (Ball's) written findings — Ball wrote Holly "failed in having good boundaries," then Lisa's later letter claimed "Holly had not sinned."
18. Never apologized through the entire mass exodus of 50+ people.
19. Publicly exalted "Larry Legend" from the pulpit despite documented coercion of a female evangelist.
20. Failed to govern his household — Lisa acted unilaterally in the beach meeting, never bringing the matter to her husband or elders.
21. Church now meets in a Seventh Day Adventist facility — paying monthly rent to a denomination he would have labeled a false-teaching cult.
22. Built a discernment empire while practicing institutional cover-up.
23. Selective discipline — one elder was punished while another (family-connected) was protected.
24. Josiah Schimmel and Lisa Schimmel actively concealed Holly's conduct from Chad.
25. Misled donors with a fake "books were checked" assurance.
26. Publishes on his own church website: "We meet in the Seventh Day Adventist church."
27. Traded doctrinal conviction for a room to meet in.
28. Cannot sustain his own church building — the mass exodus depleted the congregation.
29. The financial irony — monthly rent checks from a "discernment" ministry now flow into SDA coffers.
30. "You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?" — Romans 2:22 applied with surgical precision.
31. "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" — yoked via the most tangible bond: a lease agreement.
32. The man who demanded accountability from every other Christian leader now sits in a pew rented from an institution he spent decades warning Christians to reject.
33. "If the salt loses its saltiness, what is it good for?" — the SDA rental is the public proof that institutional survival now trumps every doctrinal line he ever drew.
The question these thirty-three concerns raise is not subtle: If Joe Schimmel could not govern his own household, could not address his daughter's documented boundary violations, could not ensure the safety of youth at his own ministry events, could not bring himself to authorize an independent investigation when the structural conflict of interest was obvious to everyone — on what basis does he continue to hold the office of Senior Pastor under 1 Timothy 3:4–5?
Section 5
The Men Joe Schimmel Empowered
A pastor's judgment is measured not only by how he handles his own conduct, but by whom he chooses to place in positions of spiritual authority. Joe Schimmel's pattern of elevating compromised men to leadership — while never disclosing their documented failures to the congregations affected — constitutes a separate and compounding failure of pastoral stewardship.
Jonathan Ball
Overseer — Ensenada Church / BHC NetworkCriminal Record
2002: Convicted under California Penal Code 148.9 for making a false report of a criminal offense — a crime of intentional dishonesty to law enforcement.
~2021: Allegedly attempted to recruit a church member into a straw firearm purchase — citing his own criminal record and wanting to "test the system."
Joe Schimmel reportedly knew and took no action, subsequently elevating Ball to oversee the Ensenada church without ever disclosing his criminal record.
The irony: Ball's May 13, 2025 letter became the single most important internal corroboration of the allegations. That the truth came from a convicted liar is its own commentary on the institution.
Chad Davidson
Elder / Youth Pastor — Blessed Hope Chapel Disqualified Under 1 Tim 3
Failed household governance — children chronically unruly, hygiene observed as filthy; a couple confronted him with 1 Timothy 3:4–5, he was indifferent.
Permitted his wife's publicly observable boundary violations across multiple settings without correction.
Alleged abusive conduct on international outreach trips and neglected oversight at Big Bear resulting in a near-incident and lasting harm.
Jonathan Ball's letter confirmed Chad "asked for forgiveness" — yet the official church position shifted to claiming he had done nothing wrong. Chad remains in youth ministry.
The pattern is unmistakable: Joe Schimmel surrounded himself with people who could not — or would not — hold him accountable. A convicted liar was made an overseer. His son-in-law, biblically disqualified, was installed as elder. His wife controlled the finances with no oversight. A man who coerced a female evangelist was endorsed from the pulpit. This was not poor judgment. This was governance designed to resist accountability.
Section 6
The SDA Rental: Selling Your Theological Birthright for a Room to Meet In
On April 12, 2026, Blessed Hope Chapel held its first service at the Simi Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church. The man who built a ministry warning Christians about false teaching now writes monthly rent checks to a denomination whose core doctrines — soul sleep, mandatory Sabbath-keeping, investigative judgment, the prophetic authority of Ellen G. White — Good Fight Ministries has historically identified as serious theological error.
SDA Doctrine
Soul sleep, investigative judgment (1844), Saturday Sabbath binding on Christians, Ellen G. White's writings as prophetic authority — doctrines the vast majority of evangelical Christianity has historically identified as serious theological error.
Good Fight Ministries' Public Position
GFM has built its brand on exposing what it identifies as false teaching. Its documentary films have explicitly warned about Seventh-day Adventism's distinctive doctrines, categorizing them as incompatible with orthodox Christian belief.
This is not a case of a church renting from a generic community center. This is a doctrinal discernment ministry financially sustaining the very denomination it was built to refute. The money that once funded exposés of false teachers now subsidizes them. Romans 2:21–22 applies with surgical precision: "You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?"
Livestream Questions Shut Down
During the April 12, 2026 service, as viewers in the livestream chat reportedly began asking why the church was meeting in an SDA facility, those questions were allegedly shut down quickly — the same pattern observed throughout the cover-up of the Holly Davidson allegations.
"You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?" — Romans 2:21–22
Ongoing Investigation
What We're Still Investigating
Has Joe Schimmel or any member of the BHC elder board ever formally responded to the charges in this letter?
What happened to the proceeds of the Blessed Hope Chapel land sale?
Were any formal disciplinary proceedings ever initiated regarding Holly Davidson?
Was the elder board aware of Pastor Jonathan Ball's internal inquiry findings — and if so, when did they become aware and what action did they take?
What role did Lisa Schimmel and Josiah play in how information about Holly's conduct was communicated — or withheld?
How many families have left Blessed Hope Chapel since September 2025, and what have they been told?
Is the financial picture at Good Fight Ministries — $237,823 in undisclosed salaries and an 85% asset drop — connected to the leadership crisis?
If you have direct knowledge of any of these questions, we want to hear from you. All tips are confidential.Submit a Tip
1. Ten Formal Charges — Presented to the Elder Board
2. Selective discipline — one elder punished, another protected
Pastor Joe's daughter. Pastor Chad's wife. Holly Davidson allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct that would have — and did — remove others from this church. Under 1 Timothy 3, an elder must manage his own household well. Chad Davidson did not. His continued role as elder is itself a charge.
3. Schimmel (Pastor Joe's wife) & Josiah Schimmel (Pastor Joe's son) concealed Holly's conduct from Chad
4. Joe endorsed public deception from the pulpit — Larry Legend publicly exalted despite coercing a female evangelist
5. Congregants misled about proceeds of a church land sale — funds' destination never accounted for
6. Men's retreat weaponized — a whole message delivered against an absent family, turning a spiritual gathering into a character assassination
7. The discernment minister who missed everything in his own house — Joe's public gift of discernment not applied within his own congregation
8. No accountability structure above Joe — the accused held sole authority to decide whether the accusations received a hearing
9. Zeal as trump card — enthusiasm and family connection repeatedly overrode normal disciplinary processes
10. Lisa Schimmel exercised de facto co-pastoral authority with no formal office, no accountability structure, and no congregational consent
People Named in This Investigation
Pastor Joe Schimmel
Senior Pastor, Blessed Hope Chapel; founder and director of Good Fight MinistriesView Case File
Lisa Schimmel
Wife of Pastor Joe Schimmel. De facto financial controller with zero oversight.
Josiah Schimmel
Son of Pastor Joe Schimmel. Alleged to have concealed Holly's conduct from Chad.
Holly Davidson
Daughter of Joe Schimmel; wife of Chad Davidson. Subject of the misconduct allegations.
Pastor Chad Davidson
Elder, Blessed Hope Chapel; husband of Holly Davidson. Remains in youth ministry.View Case File
Joe Bokaie
BHC satellite group member. Collaborated with Joe Schimmel at the men's retreat to cement a false narrative against an absent family.
Brian Stegall
BHC satellite group member. Allegedly fabricated additional false accusations against the family at the men's retreat.
Tony Palacio
Longtime associate of Good Fight Ministries. Distributed the men's retreat recording to a wide circle of men.
Pastor Jonathan Ball
BHC network pastor. Conducted internal inquiry concluding Holly and Chad sinned. Has a 2002 criminal conviction for making a false report to law enforcement.
Primary Source Evidence
An Open Letter Demanding Independent Accountability
In September 2025, a group of longtime Blessed Hope Chapel members put their concerns in writing and formally delivered them to the elders. The letter was widely circulated among the congregation. Many who were aware of its contents did not sign. Those who did were precise, measured, and direct. They asked for a closed-door meeting with the elder board to formally address what they had documented.
A redacted version of the original document — preserved here as a primary source exhibit — captures not only what the congregation knew, but what they formally told leadership they knew. These are their own words, their own voice, and their own prediction. It was ignored.
September 2025
Multiple Longtime Members
Blessed Hope Chapel, Simi Valley, CA
Addressed to: Joe Schimmel, Steve Aguilar, Chad Davidson, John Heeber
Redacted — Names Protected
Primary Source — Documentary Exhibit: September 2025 Open Letter (Redacted)
Exhibit A — Page 1 of 2Click to enlarge
Exhibit B — Page 2 of 2Click to enlarge
Original document on file with The Berean Examiner. Certain names and identifying details have been redacted. Authenticity verified independently. Click either exhibit to view full size.
Ten Explosive Elements — Annotated
1. Selective Discipline: One Elder Punished, Another Protected Governance Failure
“The seeming hypocrisy of disciplining one elder but not another for unscriptural choices and actions, John Heeber but not Chad Davidson: John Heeber for going over the heads of Pastor Joe and the other elders in installing [redacted] pastor of the Blessed Hope Chapel satellite church of Texas without their knowledge. Chad Davidson for not confronting and dealing with blatant ongoing sin under his own roof — emotional adultery which was observed and grieved over by many of the undersigned over a long period of time.”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: This is not a private complaint — it is a formal written charge, made by the congregation to the elders, naming a specific double standard: a procedural violation earned swift discipline; a sustained moral failure under an elder's own roof earned none. Chad Davidson is Joe Schimmel's son-in-law; Holly Davidson is Joe Schimmel's own daughter — and Chad's wife. The fact that conduct described as ‘blatant ongoing sin’ was observed ‘over a long period of time’ by multiple witnesses, and still went unaddressed, goes directly to Joe Schimmel's fitness for pastoral oversight. He was either unaware of what was happening in his own daughter's household — or he was aware and chose to protect her.
1 Timothy 3:4–5
“He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)” The household disorder was not subtle. Former staff members and congregants went directly to the elders to plead that Chad and Holly Davidson's children were chronically unruly, disruptive, and out of control in church gatherings and on numerous trips — church members also observed their hygiene as filthy on repeated occasions, with some even contemplating calling authorities due to what appeared to be gross negligence. Under the very passage cited above, a pastor must “manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive.” The children running wild and visibly neglected through the church were a visible indictment — not a private family matter, but a biblical disqualification playing out in front of the entire congregation. The elders heard the pleas and did nothing.
The congregation was not applying an external standard. They were applying the one their own pastor had preached from that very pulpit.
2. The Santa Barbara Parallel: 'Why Did Holly Get a Pass?'Double Standard
“[Redacted] was caught in Santa Barbara with what was observed to be emotional adultery — holding the hand of a woman who was not his wife — and left the church or was asked to leave. Why did Holly get a pass and not [redacted]?”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: The congregation itself drew this parallel — in writing, formally, and delivered it to leadership. Someone was removed from the church for holding a woman's hand who was not his wife. Holly Davidson — Pastor Joe Schimmel's daughter and Pastor Chad Davidson's wife — was not removed, and is documented in this investigation to have engaged in conduct described (in a document not previously made public) by Pastor Jonathan Ball himself as ‘boundary failures’ toward a younger male congregant under her care. According to documents on file with this publication, that relationship was allegedly inappropriate in nature. The congregants are not merely venting frustration. They are presenting leadership with a direct logical contradiction and demanding an answer.
James 2:1
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.”The congregation was not asking for anything extraordinary. They were asking for the same standard to apply to the pastor's daughter that had already been applied to everyone else. Favoritism in discipline is not a pastoral judgment call — Scripture names it as sin.
3. Lisa and Josiah Concealed Information From Chad — New Cover-Up LayerCover-Up Allegation
“Joe seems to be in complete denial regarding his daughter's sin. Many wonder why Lisa and Josiah kept knowledge of it from Chad!”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: This is the most significant new revelation in the entire letter. Until now, the investigation documented Joe Schimmel's role in managing and shaping the narrative — but this sentence introduces a separate layer: the congregation's belief that Lisa Schimmel (Joe's wife and Holly's mother) and Josiah Schimmel (Joe's son and Holly's brother) had knowledge of Holly's conduct and actively kept it from Holly's own husband, Chad Davidson. If true, the cover-up is not just institutional — it is familial and deliberate. A husband was allegedly kept in the dark about his wife's conduct by her own parents and sibling. The congregation noticed and documented this.
Ephesians 5:11
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Scripture does not permit the concealment of sin within the body — it commands exposure. If the congregation's account is accurate, the Schimmel family did the precise opposite of what Paul instructs: they actively shielded the darkness from the one person most directly harmed by it.
4. Joe Endorses 'Exaltation' of a Man Who Deceived Hospital Staff Pastoral Endorsement of Deception
“It has been disclosed by one of our female evangelists who accompanied Larry Legend (along with three other men who collaborated with Larry) to his hospital ministry that he coerced her into sitting in a wheelchair in order for them to have access to the patients, knowingly deceiving hospital staff and breaking hospital rules. Joe heartily endorses Larry Legend's behavior from the pulpit. 'Exalt' is a strong endorsement. Joe's apparent only rationale is his seeming unwillingness to dampen Larry Legend's zeal.”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: This thread is entirely absent from any prior coverage of BHC. It reveals a pattern that runs throughout this investigation: Joe Schimmel's tendency to protect and promote people demonstrating zeal, regardless of their conduct. A man named Larry Legend — who coerced a woman into a wheelchair to deceive medical staff — was given not quiet tolerance but public exaltation from the pulpit. The congregation named this explicitly. ‘Exalt’ is their word, not ours — they are quoting Joe's own endorsement back to him as evidence of failed discernment.
Romans 16:17–18
“Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned… by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” Paul's warning is not about obvious wolves — it is about those who appear zealous and persuasive. A pastor who publicly exalts a man who coerces women and deceives hospital staff is not protecting the flock. He is modeling the very behavior Paul commands the church to mark and avoid.
5. The Financial Opacity: Land Sold, Promises Unkept, No AccountabilityFinancial Transparency
“We understood that we would diligently seek out a much smaller property with a church building in place, buy it and bank the rest of the cash. That search however was short-lived. We completely trusted Joe and Lisa which was not healthy for them nor us, them having and having had no accountability.”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: The congregation is not raising a general transparency complaint — they are describing a specific commitment made to them about the proceeds of a land sale, and documenting that it was not honored. The search for a replacement property was ‘short-lived.’ The funds' ultimate destination is unaddressed. And the congregation assigns direct responsibility: ‘We completely trusted Joe and Lisa.’ This letter, combined with this investigation's prior findings on Good Fight Ministries' 85% asset drop and the rent-free facility arrangement, establishes that financial opacity was not a perception problem. It was a congregation-documented pattern, formally put in writing.
Luke 16:10–11
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” Jesus draws a direct line between financial integrity and spiritual fitness for leadership. The congregation's documented concern about the land-sale proceeds is not a secondary matter — by this standard, it is a direct test of whether the men entrusted with the church's spiritual welfare can be trusted at all.
6. The Retreat Was a Courtroom: Slander Against an Absent Family, Deliberate Cover-Up for Holly Pastoral Manipulation
“Joe is accused of speaking behind peoples' backs. At the mens' retreat, he delivered a whole message against [redacted family] without either of them being there to give a defense. And of course the message was completely inappropriate for a mens' retreat.”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: According to multiple former Blessed Hope Chapel congregants whose accounts have been independently confirmed, the family referenced in the open letter had already decided to leave the church after learning the full extent of the charges involving Holly Davidson and the elders' refusal to permit any independent, third-party investigation. These former members indicate Joe Schimmel knew the true reason for their departure yet withheld that context from the men at the retreat. Instead, he reportedly framed the family as divisive or rebellious. Two other men in attendance from Texas, reportedly seeking to gain favor with Pastor Joe, allegedly joined in and fabricated additional false accusations against the family. This turned what the open letter describes as “completely inappropriate for a men's retreat” into a broader character assassination that reportedly split even the family's home fellowship group — some members accepted the narrative presented and remained, while others reportedly recognized the manipulation and left the church alongside the family. The relational fallout, according to multiple former members, continues to this day. The Berean Examiner has confirmed the identities of both men through multiple former attendees of that retreat who refused to go along with what they described as a coordinated effort to destroy the family's reputation. Their identities are known to this publication. Given that more than fifty people have since left Blessed Hope Chapel, the circle of those willing to speak has grown considerably — and they are speaking. In a spiritually heightened environment where pastoral authority carried significant weight, these former members describe the event as a calculated effort to inoculate key influencers against the family's perspective before they could share their side.
Recording Obtained — Under Analysis
The Berean Examiner has obtained a recording of this men's retreat session. Our editorial staff is currently analyzing this evidence in full. What that analysis has already established is this: multiple attendees of that retreat have independently confirmed that the statements made by Pastor Joe Schimmel and the two men from Texas about the absent family were false — and that what transpired in that room was not, in their words, a pastoral address. It was, as more than one attendee has described it, blatant slander delivered from a position of spiritual authority, against people who were given no opportunity to defend themselves.
Furthermore, multiple families who have since departed Blessed Hope Chapel have confirmed what the retreat session appears to have been designed to prevent: the truth about why that family left. Their departure had nothing to do with the narrative constructed against them at the retreat. They left because of the allegations against Holly Davidson and because church leadership refused to permit any independent, third-party investigation — the very concerns documented throughout this article. The retreat session, in the assessment of those who witnessed it, was a deliberate and preemptive effort to cement a false narrative before that family could tell their own story.
They were not alone. As of January 2026, more than 30 families have reportedly left Blessed Hope Chapel Simi Valley — many citing the same reasons: the unresolved allegations against Holly Davidson, the elder board's refusal to authorize an independent investigation, and a leadership culture in which raising these concerns was treated not as faithfulness but as disloyalty. The recording was subsequently distributed to a wide circle of men by Tony Palacio, a longtime associate of Good Fight Ministries and Blessed Hope Chapel — ensuring that the false statements reached an audience far beyond those present in the room. The existence of this recording, and the deliberate decision to circulate it, raises questions that will not go unanswered. Those who made these statements, and those who chose to spread them, know who they are. So do we.
Proverbs 18:17
“In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines.” This proverb is the precise biblical diagnosis of what allegedly happened at that retreat. The family was not present. They could not cross-examine. The pastor held the floor, the audience, and the spiritual authority — and used all three against people who had no voice in the room. If accurate, this represents one of the most active and deliberate instances of damage control documented in the open letter.
7. The Watchman Couldn't See His Own Watchtower: The Discernment Minister Who Missed Everything in His Own House Discernment Failure
“Because of Pastor Joe's incredible gift of rightly dividing the Word of God… many of us have for years sat under his leading… That being said… we submit the following list of grievances…”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: Joe Schimmel's public ministry has long centered on the claim that he possesses superior spiritual discernment. Yet the open letter, signed by long-time insiders, lists multiple areas where the congregation documented that the pastor failed to apply that same discernment inside his own church. They point to documented ongoing sin under an elder's roof, alleged familial concealment involving his wife and son-in-law, the reported coercion of a female evangelist, double standards in discipline, financial opacity concerns, and continued endorsement of controversial street-evangelism practices despite repeated warnings. Details across each of these areas have been confirmed through multiple former congregants with direct knowledge of the events described.
Matthew 7:3–5
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?… You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly.” The signers were not critics from outside but committed attendees who once trusted Joe's teaching. The man who built a ministry on exposing spiritual blindness in others was, by his own congregation's account, unable — or unwilling — to see what was happening inside his own walls.
8. The Accused Decides His Own Case: No Accountability Structure Above JoeUnaccountable Leadership
“There are no checks and balances in place to initiate and maintain accountability of Pastor Joe Schimmel to the church body. That includes financial transparency… them having and having had no accountability.”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: Pastor Joe Schimmel is named directly in several of the grievances outlined in the open letter, yet he remained the sole senior authority with the power to decide whether those very accusations would receive a formal hearing. Multiple former members confirm that the letter writers pleaded for a closed-door meeting because the congregation understood there was no higher elder board, appeals process, or external accountability structure above him. The man accused of protecting his daughter, endorsing deception, and mismanaging land-sale proceeds was simultaneously the man who would determine whether any of those charges were ever formally examined.
Proverbs 11:14
“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
Proverbs 15:22
“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”The open letter's explicit statement — “there are no checks and balances” — is not rhetorical. It is a structural description of how the church operated, offered by people who had lived inside that structure for years. The absence of accountability was not an oversight. It was the architecture.
9. Zeal as Trump Card: Enthusiasm Over IntegrityLeadership Philosophy
“Joe heartily endorses Larry's behavior from the pulpit. 'Exalt' is a strong endorsement. Joe's apparent only rationale is his seeming unwillingness to dampen Larry's zeal.”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: This line in the open letter reveals what multiple former congregants describe as the underlying operating principle at Blessed Hope Chapel. The letter documents multiple instances where enthusiasm or family connection appeared to override normal disciplinary processes: Chad Davidson allegedly faced no consequences for “ongoing sin… observed… over a long period of time” under his roof, Holly Davidson reportedly received different treatment than a man removed from a satellite church for far less, and Larry Legend was publicly exalted despite allegations of coercion and deception. The congregation's diagnosis — that Joe's “seeming unwillingness to dampen Larry's zeal” was the operative rationale — points to a leadership culture where visible enthusiasm functioned as a shield against accountability. These accounts have been confirmed across multiple independent former members with no connection to one another.
Proverbs 19:2
“Desire without knowledge is not good — how much more will hasty feet miss the way!” Scripture does not treat zeal as a virtue in isolation. Zeal without integrity, without correction, without accountability, is explicitly warned against. If accurate, it suggests the same dynamic that protected Holly Davidson also protected Larry Legend: proximity to Joe, and the appearance of spiritual fervor, were sufficient to place a person beyond the reach of normal correction.
10. Lisa as De Facto Co-Pastor: Power Without Title or Accountability Unofficial Power Structure
“We completely trusted Joe and Lisa which was not healthy for them nor us, them having and having had no accountability… Many wonder why Lisa and Josiah kept knowledge of it from Chad!”
— September 2025 Open Letter to BHC Elders
Editorial note: The open letter repeatedly refers to “Joe and Lisa” as a leadership unit — particularly regarding the land-sale proceeds, the alleged concealment of information about Holly, and the broader claim of “them having and having had no accountability.” Multiple former congregants with direct knowledge of BHC's internal operations confirm that Lisa Schimmel held no formal office, was never installed as an elder or staff member, and was never placed under any defined accountability structure. Yet the congregation's letter treats her as a co-principal in the decisions they are challenging — including the financial ones. The phrase “Joe and Lisa” appears not as a social reference but as a governance description: two people who exercised authority together, without the accountability structures that formal office would have required.
1 Timothy 5:17
“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” Scripture is precise about who holds governing authority in the church, how they are to be appointed, and what accountability they bear. Lisa Schimmel was appointed to nothing, accountable to no one, and yet — by the congregation's own account — functioned as a co-decision-maker in matters of finance, family, and church governance. The congregation noticed this arrangement and named it explicitly — not as a complaint about Lisa personally, but as a structural observation about how power actually operated at Blessed Hope Chapel.
Editorial AnalysisUpdated Apr 6, 2026
The Warning Was Given. In Writing. It Was Ignored. And Now One of Their Own Has Confirmed It.
What this letter establishes is not merely what the congregation was feeling — it is what they formally communicated, in measured and theologically careful language, to the men responsible for the church. Read the tone again: “This appeal comes without a hint of malice.” “We dearly love Joe and Lisa.” “We, the undersigned, are in no way holier than thou.” This is not a revolt. This is a last appeal. These are longtime members — people who had sat under this teaching for years, who believed in the ministry, who were trying to save it. And notably, what they did was biblical. Matthew 18:15–17 prescribes exactly this process: bring the concern to the offending party, then to witnesses, then — if unresolved — to the church. This letter represents that final, formal step. They followed the process their own pastor had taught them. Leadership did not respond.
They predicted the outcome precisely. “We fear the result to be a split in the church, or worse, the complete dissolution of the Simi Valley church fellowship.” They demanded a closed-door meeting with the elders to address the allegations. They stated that without it, they would be forced to witness the demise of Blessed Hope Chapel and its “formerly sterling reputation.”
And then there is this: the letter itself notes, without elaboration, that “many who were aware of its contents did not sign.” That single sentence may be the most revealing line in the entire document. The ten elements annotated above represent the formal record of those who were willing to put their names to paper. But multiple former members with direct knowledge of the letter's circulation confirm that a larger group inside the church knew the contents, reportedly agreed with many of the concerns, and still chose not to sign — out of fear of repercussions. The culture of fear the letter implies was not a byproduct of the crisis. It was the precondition that allowed the crisis to develop unchecked for as long as it did. People who agreed with formal written charges against their pastor were nonetheless too afraid to attach their names to them.
April 6, 2026 — New Evidence Changes the Picture
Since this article was first published, the evidentiary record has grown substantially — and it has grown from inside the church itself. The Berean Examiner has now obtained three additional pieces of evidence that did not exist in the public record when the congregation wrote this letter: a recording from the BHC men's retreat, independent confirmation from multiple former members that the retreat was used to construct a false narrative against a departing family, and — most significantly — written correspondence from Pastor Jonathan Ball, a pastor within the Blessed Hope Chapel network, documenting the findings of his own internal inquiry.
Pastor Ball's conclusion, stated in his own words: “Holly has … stated her failures.” And: “She did fail in having good boundaries.” These are not the words of an outside critic. They are not the words of a disgruntled former member. They are the documented findings of a pastor who conducted his own inquiry — inside the Blessed Hope Chapel structure, using BHC's own process — and reached a verdict that the elder board has never publicly acknowledged.
Pastor Jonathan Ball — Written Correspondence (On File with The Berean Examiner)
“Holly has … stated her failures.”
“She did fail in having good boundaries.”
Ellipses indicate redacted identifying detail; substance is unaltered. Original document on file with The Berean Examiner.
But the weight of Pastor Ball's words is not only in what he wrote — it is in when he wrote it. The Berean Examiner has confirmed that Ball's correspondence is dated to mid-May 2025. On that same day, according to records reviewed for this report, Pastor Joe Schimmel sent a message to others characterizing the alleged victim as the predator — the aggressor in the very situation Ball was simultaneously documenting as Holly Davidson's boundary failure. Two men inside the same network, one calendar date, opposite conclusions. The senior pastor was publicly constructing a narrative of victim-as-aggressor while one of his own network pastors was privately writing the truth that would ultimately expose that narrative as false.
Whether Pastor Joe did not know what Jonathan was writing that day — or knew and could not stop it — the result is the same: the official narrative collapsed from within, on a single day, in real time. The elder board has never acknowledged this contradiction. It is now part of the record.
This matters enormously in the context of the open letter. The congregation's central charge — that Holly Davidson engaged in conduct that would have, and did, remove others from this church, and that the elder board applied a different standard to the pastor's own daughter — is now corroborated not by outside reporting, but by an internal pastoral inquiry. The congregation was right. They documented it. They delivered it formally to leadership. And one of BHC's own pastors, conducting his own process, reached the same conclusion they had already put in writing.
The elder board's public posture — that the matter was handled, that no wrongdoing was established, that the concerns raised were the product of disloyalty rather than faithfulness — is now in direct conflict with the documented findings of one of their own. That is not a perception problem. That is a contradiction that demands an answer.
The Question That Remains Unanswered
If one of Blessed Hope Chapel's own pastors conducted an internal inquiry and concluded that Holly Davidson and Chad Davidson sinned — why has the elder board taken no corrective action, issued no public acknowledgment, and allowed Chad Davidson to continue serving as an elder?
Under 1 Timothy 3:4–5, an elder must manage his own household well. That is not our standard — it is the standard the elder board of Blessed Hope Chapel claims to hold. If their own internal process produced a finding of sin, the question is not whether Chad Davidson should step down. The question is: why hasn't he already? And if the elder board was aware of Pastor Ball's findings and chose to suppress them — that is not a pastoral failure. That is a cover-up.
The congregation's September 2025 letter was not the beginning of this story. It was the moment the congregation formally documented what they already knew — and formally asked leadership to account for it. The elder board's silence in response to that letter is now compounded by a second silence: their failure to act on the findings of their own pastor's inquiry. Two separate processes — one by the congregation, one by a pastor inside the network — reached the same conclusion. Both were ignored.
The result the congregation feared has arrived. As of January 2026, more than 30 families — upwards of 50 individuals — have reportedly left Blessed Hope Chapel Simi Valley. The men's retreat recording, now in our possession, documents the leadership's response to that exodus: not accountability, not transparency, but a preemptive effort to control the narrative before those who left could tell their own story. The congregation wrote it down. A pastor inside the network confirmed it. And the church is emptying.
Written Prediction — September 2025
From the letter
“We fear the result to be a split in the church, or worse, the complete dissolution of the Simi Valley church fellowship.”
As of January 2026: More than 30 families — upwards of 50 individuals — have reportedly left. The prediction was not pessimism. It was a diagnosis. And it was accurate.
What the congregation put in writing — formally, carefully, and at personal risk — has never, to our knowledge, been publicly addressed by leadership. What Pastor Ball documented in his own correspondence has never, to our knowledge, been publicly acknowledged by the elder board. The charges stand in the record. The internal findings stand in the record. The silence that answered both is part of the record too. Ezekiel 33:6 speaks of a watchman who sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet: “His blood I will require at the watchman's hand.” Joe Schimmel has built a public ministry on the identity of the watchman. The congregation handed him the trumpet. One of his own pastors handed it to him again. He has not blown it.
Shepherd's Watch — Active Case Files
The allegations documented in this article are now tracked in two active Shepherd's Watch case files — each with a comprehensive timeline, evidence tables, and ongoing status updates.
SW-2026-004: Joe Schimmel Case FileSW-2026-005: Chad Davidson Case File
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SW-2026-004: Joe Schimmel / Blessed Hope Chapel — Sexual Misconduct Cover-Up, Defamation & Church Exodus
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SW-2026-005: Chad Davidson / Blessed Hope Chapel — Pastoral Disqualification & Household Disorder
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