North Texas youth pastor fired after disclosing ‘inappropriate contact’ with child
A youth pastor at a Frisco church has been fired after he confessed to “inappropriate contact” with a child a decade ago, according to a statement from the church’s lead pastor.
The youth pastor, Jerry Nickerson, was immediately terminated from his position at Hope Fellowship, lead pastor John McKinzie wrote in an email to church members.
Hope Fellowship is a non-denominational church and has three locations: one in Frisco, one in Prosper and another in McKinney, according to the church’s website.
Nickerson was a student pastor at the Frisco location and made the confession after “being unexpectedly confronted” about past incidents, which occurred with he was an adult volunteer youth leader at another church, the statement reads.
“This incident occurred before (Nickerson’s) time at Hope Fellowship, and we had no prior knowledge of this situation or any allegations against him,” McKinzie wrote in the letter, which was first shared on the blog Watchkeep.
No criminal charges have been filed. Hope Fellowship is in contact with the organization where the alleged child abuse occurred, and is working with that organization to ensure guidelines are followed to report the allegations to the appropriate law enforcement agency “as well as working with our church legal counsel to ensure that our actions protect the victim,” church officials told WFAA-TV.
“We applaud (the victim’s) courage and support them coming forward 10 years later,” the statement reads.
The church said it conducted a background check in 2021 when it hired Nickerson, which did not show any history of allegations.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM.
