When news of the investigation broke, I spotted a recent change that had been made to the Soul Survivor Watford website. I’ve taken another look and discovered many more changes that I missed first time.
On the Soul Survivor Watford website - Meet the Team
On this page four of the biographies had phrases taken out between 22nd March and 10th April. The change may have occurred before or after the announcement. In addition, as previously noted, the Mike Pilavachi section was moved down the page.
Andy Croft section
22nd March (highlight added by me)
Andy is the Senior Pastor of Soul Survivor Watford. He is married to Beth (who often leads worship for us) and they have four young sons. As a teenager, Andy was one of Mike’s interns, he then went on to get a First Class Degree from Cambridge in Theology before coming back to work for us. Andy has authored a number of books with Mike, loves to work out at the gym with a Rocky soundtrack as motivation, and is a big C.S. Lewis fan.
10th April
Andy is the Senior Pastor of Soul Survivor Watford. He is married to Beth (who often leads worship for us) and they have four young sons. Andy got a First Class Degree from Cambridge in Theology before he came to work for us. He has authored a number of books with Mike, loves to work out at the gym with a Rocky soundtrack as motivation, and is a big C.S. Lewis fan.
Mike Pilavachi section
22nd March (highlight added by me)
Mike started this church family in 1993 by gathering a bunch of people who wanted to reach out to teenagers in Watford. He also started the Soul Survivor charity and has been awarded an MBE for his services to young people. In his previous life he was an accountant who could never quite balance the books but now he travels the world sharing his passions for Jesus and terrible jokes. At home he loves to sit in his garden, watch his grape vines grow and cook Greek feasts. He has written a number of books (most with Andy) including Wasteland, Storylines, Everyday Supernatural and Lifelines.
10th April
Mike started this church family in 1993 by gathering a bunch of people who wanted to reach out to teenagers in Watford. He also started the Soul Survivor charity and has been awarded an MBE for his services to young people. Mike loves to sit in his garden, watch his grape vines grow and cook Greek feasts. He has written a number of books (most with Andy) including Wasteland, Storylines, Everyday Supernatural and Lifelines.
Jon Stevens section
22nd March (highlight added by me)
Jon has been part of the church family for 25 years and working for us since 2015. Fresh out of uni he travelled the globe with Mike (which he tells us does count as work) before becoming part of the senior management team at Starbucks and then Heathrow. Jon helps shape our structures, pastoral teams and our administration (i.e. he keeps everything ticking). He was ordained a priest in 2020 and is also a curate at St Albans Cathedral. Married to Clare, with three kids, he makes an amazing Waga's katsu curry and takes great pride in his luscious green lawn!
10th April
Jon has been part of the church family for 25 years and working for us since 2015. He was part of the senior management team at Starbucks and then Heathrow before coming to work for us. Jon helps shape our structures, pastoral teams and our administration (i.e. he keeps everything ticking). He was ordained a priest in 2020 and is also a curate at St Albans Cathedral. Married to Clare, with three kids, he makes an amazing Waga's katsu curry and takes great pride in his luscious green lawn!
James Barlow section
22nd March (highlight added by me)
James joined us from Stafford in 2011 when he was on our Soul61 leadership course. He’s been part of the team here and at Soul Survivor on and off ever since! He trained in theology and youth ministry and has just been ordained. As well as being part of the team here, James is Curate in Charge at St Andrew’s Watford. His busy life is fuelled by his love of coffee. James is married to Be (who looks after our children’s work) and they recently became parents to a gorgeous little girl.
10th April
James joined us from Stafford in 2011 and he’s been part of the team here and at Soul Survivor on and off ever since! He trained in theology and youth ministry and has just been ordained. As well as being part of the team here, James is Curate in Charge at St Andrew’s Watford. His busy life is fuelled by his love of coffee. James is married to Be (who looks after our children’s work) and they recently became parents to a gorgeous little girl.
See for yourself:
Soul Survivor Website - Home page
On this page the Soul 61 section was modified between the dates listed.
21st March (highlights mine)
Soul61 is the part of Soul Survivor that’s about identifying, training and equipping young leaders. We are currently running an intern programme where young leaders come and spend time with Mike and the team in Watford. If you would like to support the work of Soul61, you can give here. Thank you!
Current version
Soul61 is the part of Soul Survivor that’s about identifying, training and equipping young leaders.
See for yourself:
How do we know these changes happened?
The evidence of these changes is captured from the Wayback Machine, a facility run by a US charity called the Internet Archive. They trawl the Internet using automation at regular intervals archiving the content of websites. The frequency of checks tends to reflect the profile of the website. For example, they archive the BBC home page several times a day.
The Soul Survivor Watford and Soul Survivor websites are lower-profile, and archived less frequently. The information here is taken from the closest working archive dates to the announcement of the investigation.
We can't tell who requested these changes. Pilavachi may not have known about these.
Update on 25th April 2023 I've looked more closely at the history of the Soul61 website and made a surprising discovery.
