EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (November 24, 2025) – In a town where Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings often orbit around church activities, the arrest of a youth volunteer at Excelsior Springs Baptist Church has hit the community like a shockwave.
Church leaders say they are “heartbroken” and are pledging to review their safety policies after Donald Aaron Axtell, a volunteer who worked with youth, was charged in Clay County with statutory rape in the second degree, possession of child pornography, and furnishing pornographic material to a minor, according to charging documents.
In a statement released Wednesday, the church’s leadership team called the accusations “extremely serious.”
“Our first concern is for the safety, well-being, and privacy of the victim in this case and for anyone else who may have been affected. We are heartbroken for her and her family,” the statement said.
Church leaders said Axtell “has been removed from all duties, he has no church-approved access to minors or to our facilities, and is no longer serving in any ministry role at Excelsior Springs Baptist Church.” They also said the church is cooperating fully with law enforcement and “will not be commenting on specific details” because the criminal case is ongoing.
Church pledges policy review and outside oversight
In their written statement, Excelsior Springs Baptist leaders said they “unequivocally condemn abuse in any form” and described existing screening, training and supervision policies for staff and volunteers who work with children and students.
“To ensure our commitment to safety, the Church will be engaging outside experts to review these existing policies and strengthening them if necessary,” the statement said.
The church encouraged anyone with information to contact the Excelsior Springs Police Department and the Missouri child abuse and neglect hotline at 1-800-392-3738, and invited those needing spiritual or emotional support to contact church staff.
“As a church, we believe that God calls us to protect the vulnerable, to tell the truth, and to pursue justice,” leaders wrote. “In this difficult moment, we are praying for the victim and her family, for our students and their families, and for wisdom and courage for everyone involved in responding to this situation.”
When the Excelsior Citizen requested copies of the church’s written safety and screening policies, leaders said that, on the advice of legal counsel, they could not provide the documents at this time.
A painful moment for the local faith community
In reporting on the wider impact of the case, the Excelsior Citizen contacted several other pastors and ministry leaders in Excelsior Springs. Privately, they expressed grief, concern, and a desire to support those who are hurting, but none agreed to be quoted on the record. Some said they worried public comments could be perceived as one church speaking against another. One local pastor, who declined to be named, instead pointed toward this Sunday’s Lectionary readings as a way some Christians might process what is happening.
For many families in Excelsior Springs, the allegations cut to the heart of what they expect from their churches: a place where children are nurtured, protected, and taught by adults who can be trusted.
Parents are again asking themselves hard questions. Who has access to their kids at church? What safeguards are in place? How quickly would concerns be taken seriously? Survivors of past abuse in religious settings may find this moment particularly difficult, even if they have no connection to this specific congregation.
Faith leaders often describe the church as a refuge for the vulnerable. When someone in a ministry role is accused of exploiting that trust, it can shake confidence not only in a single congregation but in the broader religious community.
Some church members may choose to stay and help strengthen policies where they worship. Others may step back from involvement for a time, unsure about returning to the same rooms where youth events and Bible studies are held. Still others may simply watch, waiting to see how leaders handle this case and what practical changes follow.
For Christians who follow the Lectionary, this Sunday’s readings may have felt especially relevant. One of the appointed texts from the prophet Jeremiah pronounces, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! … It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord,” (Jeremiah 23:1–4). For some in Excelsior Springs, those ancient words may feel uncomfortably close to home this week, as the community wrestles with what faithful shepherding should look like in practice.
Southern Baptists under national scrutiny over abuse
The local case also comes during a long-running national conversation about how the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, with more than 13 million members and over 40,000 churches, has responded to sexual abuse.
In 2019, a major investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News documented allegations of sexual abuse involving hundreds of Southern Baptist pastors, staff, and volunteers and more than 700 victims over 20 years, including many children. The reporting found repeated cases where known abusers were allowed to move to other churches and continue in ministry, and where denominational leaders resisted efforts to track offenders or adopt stronger protections.
In response to growing pressure from survivors and church members, Southern Baptists voted in 2021 to authorize an independent investigation. In 2022, the firm Guidepost Solutions released a 400-page report describing how SBC Executive Committee leaders had mishandled and sometimes ignored abuse reports for years, often out of concern for legal liability rather than care for victims.
Since then, Southern Baptists have created task forces and new training resources intended to help churches prevent and respond to abuse. An Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force was charged with developing tools for congregations, including a proposed database of abusive pastors and staff. Some reforms have moved forward, but key pieces, such as a permanent, fully funded system for tracking abusive leaders, remain incomplete, drawing continued criticism from advocates and survivors.
Local churches on the front line of prevention
Because each Southern Baptist church is self-governing, national policies only reach so far. Decisions about screening volunteers, responding to reports, contacting police, and supporting survivors ultimately happen at the congregational level.
That means local churches like Excelsior Springs Baptist play a critical role in either preventing abuse or allowing it to go unchecked. In the days since Axtell’s arrest, pastors and lay leaders at other churches in Excelsior Springs say they are taking a fresh look at their own safety measures, asking if the protections they have in place are strong enough and consistently followed.
Across the community, many congregations have already adopted layers of safeguards, including secure check-in procedures for children’s areas, video monitoring in hallways and classrooms, and “Safe Sanctuary”–style practices that require at least two adults to be present whenever children or youth are being supervised. Those policies are designed both to protect young people and to protect volunteers from being alone in situations that could be unsafe or misunderstood.
In their statement, church leaders at Excelsior Springs Baptist said they already have “rigorous policies in place to screen, train and supervise all staff and volunteers who work with children and students,” and that outside experts will now be invited to evaluate and strengthen those policies. For families in Excelsior Springs, the question will be how those commitments translate into concrete actions over time: clearer reporting procedures, more training, transparent communication, and a culture where victims are believed and supported.
Where people can turn for help
As the criminal case moves forward, community members who have been harmed in religious settings may be wrestling with their own memories and experiences, whether recent or decades old.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Excelsior Springs Police Department. Concerns about abuse or neglect involving a child in Missouri can be reported to the state hotline at 1-800-392-3738, which is available 24 hours a day.
Survivors of sexual abuse can also contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online via RAINN.org for confidential support and resources.
For many people of faith, moments like this bring deep grief and hard questions. They also present an opportunity for churches and the broader faith community in Excelsior Springs to do the slow, steady work of rebuilding trust, protecting the vulnerable, telling the truth about harm, and seeking justice for those who have been wounded.
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