Tim Somers, a youth pastor for Steven Furtick’s Elevation Church in North Carolina, has been fired after being accused of engaging in sexual misconduct with students while serving with the youth ministry of Oaks Church in Red Oaks, Texas.
The alleged abuse reportedly occurred around the same time frame as the abuse allegedly perpetrated by Jerry Nickerson, who was also serving at Oaks Church.
Nickerson was fired in January from his position as the youth pastor at the Frisco West campus of Hope Fellowship Church in Texas after allegations came to light that he had “inappropriate contact with a minor” while serving at Oaks Church roughly a decade ago.
No charges have been filed against Somers at this time, but the allegations against him were revealed during an investigation of sexual abuse conducted by the Red Oaks Police Department.
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The investigation is ongoing, said Red Oaks Police Department Chief of Police Garland Wolf.
“These are serious allegations that can or will impact a person’s life for many years,” said Wolf. “We are doing what we need to do to seek justice for the victims, prosecute the offenders, and exonerate the innocent as may be the case.”
“We are scheduling meetings with persons who have come forward and we are conducting interviews and taking statements from those who want to cooperate with our investigation,” Wolfe added. “We hope to move forward soon.”
Wolf said that detectives are “still attempting to narrow down the timeline of events, the actual location of the offense(s), who may have been involved as suspects, and who may have been involved as victims.”
Oaks Church confirmed in an email to ChurchLeaders that Somers served as an intern at Oaks Church from 2009-2011 and then worked on staff from 2011-2013.
