Trinity Church Pastor Mark Driscoll Accused of Making Minors Sign NDAs Prohibiting Disclosure to Their Own Parents

A former congregant at Mark Driscoll's Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, has published what he alleges is part of a non-disclosure agreement signed by junior interns, including minors, containing a clause that explicitly prohibits signatories from discussing certain church information with their own parents.

Vincent Manuele, now 20, made the allegation on March 13, 2026 as part of promotion for a forthcoming book available for pre-order at trinitycult.com, which he says will reveal what he describes as a pattern of control and manipulation at Trinity Church.

The accusation has drawn particular attention because of a specific clause in the document Manuele shared. Under a section titled 'Parental Disclosure Restriction,' the intern NDA states, 'The intern understands that certain information shared by The Church is not to be discussed with parents, guardians, or any outside parties, regardless of age or familial relationship, unless specifically approved in writing by Church leadership.' Manuele further alleges that minors were explicitly instructed not to tell their parents that such an NDA existed at all.

Retaliation Against the Manuele Family

Manuele's history with Trinity Church is familiar to those who follow evangelical accountability reporting. He was 15 when his family began attending the church in the summer of 2020. He joined the worship team and later developed a romantic interest in Driscoll's then-17-year-old daughter. When Driscoll discovered the relationship, he called a meeting with Manuele and his father, instructing the boy to keep things at 'the friendship stage' and warning against any physical contact.

The teenagers nonetheless grew closer and shared a kiss. According to detailed reporting by The Roys Report, a Christian accountability outlet, what followed was a sustained campaign of institutional retaliation against the Manuele family.

Chad Freese, Trinity Church's former head of security, confirmed to The Roys Report that the church hired Celtic Cross Security, a professional investigations firm, to conduct around-the-clock surveillance of the Manuele family. Freese also described a 'Spectrum of Trust' system within the church, a 1-to-10 loyalty ranking Driscoll used to grade staff members, and said volunteers seen associating with people Driscoll had blacklisted would have their scores reduced. Freese resigned in protest.

A 2021 Protestia report on the surveillance documented that church members received messages telling them they could no longer maintain friendships with the Manueles if they wished to remain in leadership. One message read, 'I can't tell you who to be friends with but if you want to stay in leadership you need to curtail communication.' The Manueles were also added to a church BOLO ('Be on the Lookout') list, a register of individuals banned from church property. A police report was filed against Angelo Manuele, Vincent's father, for alleged threatening communications, a charge Angelo disputed and which did not result in a prosecution.

Angelo Manuele subsequently filed a counter-complaint of 'false imprisonment' against the church, alleging that Pastor Brad Anderson had locked Vincent in an office and subjected him to an aggressive interrogation following the disclosure of the kiss. That claim, while documented in The Roys Report in 2021, has not proceeded to a public legal judgment as of the time of publication.

NDA Clause, Minors and Legal Enforceability

The document Manuele shared purports to be the internship non-disclosure agreement used for junior volunteers at Trinity Church, including those under the age of 18. The 'Parental Disclosure Restriction' clause is the element generating the most concern, as it instructs signatories of any age not to discuss unspecified church information with their parents unless church leadership provides written approval.

Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 44-131, contracts entered into by minors are generally voidable at the minor's election, meaning that a person under 18 who signs an NDA may disaffirm it upon reaching majority. This is a standard provision in contract law across most US states. However, the practical effect of presenting children with such a document, and then allegedly instructing them not to tell their parents it exists, is a separate matter from legal enforceability.

Critics and child safeguarding experts have long raised concerns about the use of confidentiality agreements in youth ministry settings, arguing they can be weaponised to conceal institutional misconduct regardless of whether the agreements would survive legal challenge.

Manuele's allegation that minors were instructed not to disclose the NDA's existence to their parents lies at the centre of these concerns. He has not provided a sworn affidavit or court filing to support the claim, which relies on his account and those of others he says he has spoken with, all of which remain unverified by independent third parties as of publication.

Driscoll's Rise and Unchecked Control at Trinity Church

For those familiar with Driscoll's history, the latest allegations emerge in a context already steeped in documented controversy. Driscoll built Mars Hill Church in Seattle from a living-room Bible study into a multi-branch megachurch over two decades.

In October 2014, he resigned after being placed on leave while church elders investigated formal charges brought by 21 former pastors. A church board published a statement on the Mars Hill website finding that Driscoll had 'at times, been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner.' Driscoll did not submit to the proposed disciplinary process and instead resigned.

He founded Trinity Church in Scottsdale in 2016, deliberately structuring it, according to researcher Warren Throckmorton, without an elder board, the same governance layer that had held him accountable at Mars Hill. Without elders, there is no internal body with formal authority to discipline or remove Driscoll.

The church has grown rapidly and now reports more than 5,000 weekly attendees across multiple services. The Christianity Today podcast titled, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, documented in detail how 'the perils of power, conflict, and Christian celebrity eroded and eventually shipwrecked both the preacher and his multimillion-dollar platform' in Seattle.

Whether the book materialises, the allegations persist, or the church's 'Lives and Legacies' campaign proceeds unhindered, one fact remains undisputed: a man once removed from authority over thousands for 'domineering' behaviour now leads a larger church with no formal mechanism to remove him.