A North Texas megachurch fired its student pastor last week, after he confessed to having inappropriate contact with a minor a decade ago, according to an email from the church’s lead pastor.

Hope Fellowship Church, located in Collin County, Texas, let go of Jerry Nickerson, the student pastor at the Frisco West campus on Jan. 6, said Lead Pastor John McKinzie in the email.

Nickerson voluntarily shared with church leaders that he had inappropriate contact with a minor when he was an adult volunteer youth leader at a previous church 10 years ago, the email said. Nickerson reportedly disclosed this because he was “unexpectedly confronted about these past incidents” the weekend before, McKinzie added.

Before this, the church had no knowledge of the issue, McKinzie stated. But immediately following Nickerson’s confession, church leadership fired him.

Nickerson first started working at the church in July 2021, according to a Jan. 9 statement from the church.

The church is now working to ensure the confession is properly reported and that its actions “protect the victim,” the statement said.

Aaron Alexander, the executive pastor at Hope Fellowship, told The Roys Report (TRR) via email that the church has reported Nickerson’s confession to “all authorities” and “all connected organizations have also reported.”

Jason Esquibel, lieutenant at City of Red Oak Police Department in Texas, said that while Hope Fellowship has not made a report with the department, a third-party report from Nickerson’s previous church, The Oaks Church, has been made.

“We have not received any firsthand reports,” Esquibel told TRR via email. “Our agency is conducting a preliminary investigation to determine if there was an offense that occurred, or if there was an offense if it occurred within our jurisdiction.”

As the issue is ongoing, Esquibel said he was unable to provide further information.

The Oaks Church confirmed to TRR that it had reported the incident to the police.

The church was unaware of Nickerson’s actions until Jan. 6, church leadership said in an email sent out to congregants.

Nickerson was serving at the church as a youth ministry intern at the time and had passed a background check before joining the staff.

“The safety and security of children and young adults are a sacred responsibility in this church, so we were crushed to learn of the situation,” the email said. “Although the reported situation was difficult news for us to hear, we recognize that it was also very difficult for the former student to come forward. We would like to thank them for their courage.”

Alexander noted that the at Hope Fellowship, church leaders have encouraged any other potential victims to come forward, and so far, no one has.

McKinzie added in his email that Hope Fellowship has “stringent background check policies” and uses Checkr to review all its staff. Volunteers and staff are also trained on child abuse awareness through MinistrySafe.com.

“We believe that this behavior is disqualifying to those in pastoral and leadership positions,” McKinzie said. “As a church, we hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to protecting the children and students in our care. Any violation of those standards is taken with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to swift and decisive action.”

Nickerson also worked as the student pastor at Victory Church, a multi-site megachurch with campuses in Oklahoma and Texas, from September 2018 to July 2021,  according to a statement the church provided to The Christian Post.

Church is “heartbroken and devastated”

McKinzie also shared the news with congregants during this past Sunday’s sermon. The service marked the church’s 25th anniversary.

“It’s been one of those weeks that you never wish on your worst enemy,” McKinzie told the congregation. “(I want) to make sure when something happens—a mess happens–that we as a church family know about it. I want to read a statement just so everyone is aware.”

McKinzie then detailed the events and said that the church is “heartbroken and devastated for the victim.”

“Since people matter to God and they matter to us and victims of abuse matter to us all appropriate authorities were notified and reported to,” he continued. “And this person was let go immediately.”

During service, he encouraged congregants to reach out to the church with concerns or additional information and urged them to contact the authorities

“With all sincerity, if you’ve been abused—and some of you know exactly what this is like in your growing up years—you matter to us,” he said. “If you’ve been hurt, you matter to us.”

Hope Fellowship Church was started by McKinzie in 2000, according to a blog post sponsored by the church. The church was originally run out of a daycare that could accommodate around 100 people.

Now, the church operates four campuses in Collin County and “reaches thousands of people in person and online,” the blog said. 

Tarrant County pastor arrested

Nickerson isn’t the only pastor in north Texas to make headlines for inappropriate actions in the last week.

Johel LaFaurie, 65, the lead pastor at Iglesia Cristiana Verdad Viviente in Watauga, was arrested on Jan. 8, according to Tarrant County court records.

He was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child under 14.

TRR reached out for further comment but did not hear back prior to publication.

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.