A Frisco pastor has resigned from Hope Fellowship Church — the second pastor to step down from the megachurch this year.
John McKinzie, 59, served as lead pastor. Church elders said in a statement Tuesday that McKinzie confessed to "sexual sin and moral failure" during a meeting with church leadership Sunday. He resigned the next day, church elders said.
It's not clear what the moral failure pertained to and no further details were provided. KERA News reached out to the church and McKinzie for comment and will update this story with any response.
"As a church, our hearts are broken and we are devastated," the statement read. "Many of us have been deeply blessed by John’s ministry, teaching, and friendship. We grieve not only the sin itself but also the pain and disappointment this brings to our church family and community."
Church leaders also said no one on staff had any knowledge of the "moral failure" before McKinzie told them.
This is the second church leader to leave Hope Fellowship Church this year.
In January, Jerry Nickerson was fired after voluntarily admitting to “inappropriate contact with a minor” at a church he previously volunteered for as a youth leader, church leadership said at the time.
Hope Fellowship Church members received an email about student pastor Nickerson’s firing after he told church leaders he was “unexpectedly confronted about these past incidents.”
“We are devastated by this news,” McKinzie said in the email at the time. “We believe that this behavior is disqualifying to those in pastoral and leadership positions, and Hope Fellowship is committed to supporting and advocating for victims of abuse.”
Nickerson told church leadership the incident occurred 10 years ago and the church was not aware of any accusations against Nickerson before he came forward, leadership said.
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