A millionaire megachurch pastor has been booted in disgrace from the Texas ministry he founded with his wife after confessing to a “sexual sin.”
John McKinzie, a father of four, was ousted from his role at Hopewell Fellowship, the non-denominational ministry he founded in 2000 with his wife, Melissa, following a confessional meeting with leadership on Sunday, according to a statement the church shared with the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.
“John admitted to sexual sin and to a pattern of consensual behavior that made him unfit to continue in his role as pastor,” read the email, signed by the church’s leadership, board and elders.
The church said it was not sharing more details “out of respect for the privacy of those involved.” But it was serious enough to disqualify him from returning to the church as a pastor later on.
“We know you may be experiencing a swirl of emotions — sorrow, confusion, anger, or even disbelief,” the email said.
“We grieve not only the sin itself but also the pain and disappointment this brings to our church family and community.”
McKinzie admitted the disgrace in a letter shared with the Dallas Morning News by his interim replacement, Aaron Alexander.
“My actions have disqualified me from spiritual leadership, there is no doubt about that fact,” McKinzie said
McKinzie, who reportedly lives in a $1 million house near his ministry, added that the church was in the “best hands possible,” and said God would not abandon the congregation.
“Please pray, please continue to serve, and please continue to invest so that the mission of Hope can continue like never before,” he wrote.
The scandal comes just months after the Hope Fellowship revealed that a separate student pastor had been removed following an alleged inappropriate relationship with a minor.
The terminated pastor allegedly confessed that the contact had happened 10 years earlier at a previous church where they had been a volunteer, according to an email sent to congregants in January.
That email was signed by McKinzie, who in February spoke about the problem of abuse in the church in a separate interview with the Dallas Morning News.
Saying he aimed to be “as transparent as possible,” he added that he had learned from watching how other Dallas-Fort Worth churches had handled abuse and sexual scandals in recent years, and understood the importance of honesty.
“It matters to a world that’s watching,” he said.
McKinzie did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Hope Fellowship, which was founded in Dallas, now has campuses in Frisco, McKinney, and Prosper, with an average weekly attendance of between 8,000 and 9,000 people.
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