CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Elevation Church, the multi-campus megachurch led by Pastor Steven Furtick, has terminated youth pastor Tim Somers following allegations of sexual misconduct during his previous tenure at Oaks Church in Red Oak, Texas, more than a decade ago.

The termination comes as part of a widening investigation that began with a separate confession from another former Oaks Church staff member, revealing a potential pattern of inappropriate conduct within the Texas church’s youth ministry during that period.

“Recently, allegations were brought forward about Tim Somers’ conduct while serving at a church in Texas approximately 12 years ago,” an Elevation Church spokesperson told The Christian Post. “As soon as Elevation learned about these allegations, we reached out to local Texas authorities and immediately placed Tim on leave.”

While no charges have been filed against Somers, the spokesperson added that “Tim understands how impactful these allegations are for his role in ministry, and we have agreed he will no longer serve on staff.”

Somers worked as an intern at Oaks Church from 2009 to 2011 before becoming a staff member from 2011 to 2013. The allegations came to light in January following a related investigation involving Jerry Nickerson, who was fired from his position as student pastor at Hope Fellowship’s Frisco West Campus after confessing to “inappropriate contact with a minor” a decade earlier while at Oaks Church.

Red Oak Police Chief Garland Wolf confirmed that an active investigation is underway, though no formal charges have been filed against Somers at this time.

“These are serious allegations that can or will impact a person’s life for many years,” Wolf stated. “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.”

According to Wolf, investigators 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.” They are also working to determine whether any incidents occurred on church property or within the jurisdiction of Red Oak, Texas.

The investigation expanded after Oaks Church lead pastors Chris and Cara Railey informed their congregation about Nickerson’s confession. “Since that time, additional students have come forward to share their experiences from the same time period approximately 10 years ago,” Cara Railey said during a worship service on January 19. “The experiences they shared with us range from inappropriate text messages to inappropriate contact between youth leaders and youth students, and we immediately reported this to the authorities.”

Earlier Allegations Surface

One woman, who requested anonymity because she was a juvenile at the time, told The Roys Report that she and Somers were romantically involved for more than three years beginning around 2005, when both were approximately 15 years old. They met while serving on a worship team at a church in Waxahachie, Texas.

“He was physically and emotionally abusive to me,” she stated in an interview. “He was controlling, and he didn’t like when I was the center of attention.”

The woman alleges that after her parents discovered the relationship and forced her to break it off, they approached church leaders who then contacted Somers’ parents. According to her account, Somers’ parents said “they would deal with their son,” and a typewritten, unsigned apology letter was later sent to her parents, though she claims she never received a direct apology.

When Somers later joined Oaks Church around 2008 or 2009 as the Fine Arts Director, the woman’s father reportedly contacted an Oaks staff member about the previous abusive behavior. “Nothing was done, he was hired as their Fine Arts Director,” she claimed. “They didn’t believe me.”

The woman further alleges that in the past 19 years, several other women have contacted her claiming they were physically abused by Somers. She suggested Somers has “remained under the radar for so long because he is charming and smooth-talking.”

Ongoing Investigation

Red Oak Police Chief Wolf indicated that investigators are scheduling meetings with individuals who have come forward, conducting interviews, and taking statements from those willing to cooperate.

“We have formed an opinion based on interviews that something has occurred,” Wolf wrote in an email to The Roys Report, though specifics remain under investigation.

Attempts by multiple news organizations to reach Somers for comment through his social media accounts have been unsuccessful.

The Red Oak Police Department continues to encourage anyone with relevant information to come forward as they pursue justice for potential victims and work to establish a clear timeline of events.

Elevation Church, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the fastest-growing churches in America, with multiple campuses and thousands of attendees. Founded by Pastor Steven Furtick in 2006, the church has become known for its contemporary worship style and extensive outreach programs.

The investigation highlights the growing awareness within religious institutions of the need for rigorous background checks and accountability measures, particularly for those working with vulnerable populations such as youth.

Rick Warren, former pastor of California’s famed Saddleback Church, managed to ruffle quite a few feathers this month with a tweet that tried to turn Jesus Christ’s crucifixion into a lesson about political centrism. The tweet racked up over three million views before Warren hit the delete button, as religious leaders and commentators took him to task.

On February 11, Warren dropped this gem: “If you’re looking for the #realJesus, not a caricature disfigured by partisan motivations, you’ll find him in the middle, not on either side.” Apparently, he thought Jesus’ physical placement between two thieves during the Crucifixion had something to say about today’s political landscape.

The controversy comes less than a year after Saddleback Church, which Warren founded in 1980, was removed from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The removal stemmed from the church’s decision to appoint Stacie Wood, wife of new lead pastor Andy Wood, to a teaching pastor position – a move that contradicted the SBC’s stance on women in pastoral roles.

After watching his tweet cause a stir, Warren finally walked it back on Sunday. “I apologize,” he posted. “I wrote poorly. I don’t believe Jesus was a centrist. He stands far above it all. ‘My kingdom is not of this world…’ Jn. 18:36 Jesus demands our total allegiance as the center of our lives.”

Sean Davis, CEO and Co-Founder of “The Federalist” offered a wonderful response that sums up Warren’s true intent:

The problem was not what you wrote, which you well know. You communicated exactly what you intended to communicate, which was a condemnation of conservative Christians who rightfully understand that God condemns and prohibits abortion, trans ideology, and the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.

You very clearly confessed your true idol—a desire to be loved by the world and especially its elite cultural tastemakers—when you twisted the crucifixion of Christ and the story of the thief who was saved through repentance of sin and acknowledgment of Christ as the Messiah into a hackneyed “both sides’ modern-day political fable.

Now, rather than be honest about what you were doing, you’re transitioning from mealy-mouthed ‘Jesus is a centrist/both sides are icky’ nonsense to ‘akshully Jesus is above it all/both sides are icky’ nonsense. And it’s being done to bully and nudge faithful Christians on the right (nobody on the Left cares what you say about anything unless it can be weaponized against the Right, which you fully understand) into wrongfully believing that they’re sinful for being politically active.

We all see what you’re doing, and we’re not having any of it anymore.

Yuck. And to think Warren was once the figurehead of the contemporary church model.