The following is provided by Christian Post and Watchkeep:
Tim Somers, a youth pastor with Steven Furtick’s Elevation Church in North Carolina, was fired from his role after he was accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct with former students at Oaks Church in Texas, where he served as an intern and staff member more than 10 years ago.
“Recently, allegations were brought forward about Tim Somers’ conduct while serving at a church in Texas approximately 12 years ago,” a spokesperson for Elevation Church said Monday.
“As soon as Elevation learned about these allegations, we reached out to local Texas authorities and immediately placed Tim on leave. No charges have been filed. But Tim understands how impactful these allegations are for his role in ministry and we have agreed he will no longer serve on staff.”
Red Oaks Police Department Chief of Police Garland Wolf confirmed that no charges have yet been filed against Somers, but he has been named in their ongoing investigation of “serious allegations that can or will impact a person’s life for many years.”
“We 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. Further, the investigation is being conducted to determine what and if anything occurred on church property or in the jurisdiction of Red Oak, Texas,” Wolf said.
Amy Smith, who first reported this story on Watchkeep February 20, said Tim Somers was dismissed after allegations emerged that he sexually abused at least one student a decade earlier at a previous church. Smith also reports that the church may have decided not to report the alleged abuse to authorities:
“I have received information that suggests that allegations of sexual abuse by Tim Somers were disclosed to Oaks Church about 10 years ago, but it was not reported to law enforcement at the time.”
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