Frisco Church Consults Authorities, Removes Sermons After Pastor's 'Pattern of Sin'

Days after Hope Fellowship lead pastor John McKinzie resigned, the church he founded shed more light on the circumstances of his departure and removed some recorded sermons from its website.

According to an email sent to congregants on Thursday,  McKinzie's “multiple breaches of collective trust and his pastoral responsibilities” occurred “over several years.” The email was first shared by religious watchdog website Watchkeep and later verified by the Observer.

Earlier this week, the church announced McKinzie resigned after admitting to “sexual sin and moral failure,” but did not go into further detail as to what actions warranted his resignation. That initial email included a list of frequently asked questions that said McKinzie “admitted to sexual sin and a pattern of consensual behavior that made him unfit to continue his role as pastor.”

Following the Tuesday news, a source told Watchkeep that attendees of a women’s Bible study at the church’s McKinney campus were told by an assistant pastor that the “pattern of sin” has spanned as long as five years and that “there are apparently multiple church families affected.” Watchkeep also noted that the pastor said more details would likely be addressed during this Sunday’s services.


Another new element divulged in the Thursday email is that the church has spoken to authorities about this matter.

“However, we are unaware of any minors that were involved in these moral failures or any reports that have been made to law enforcement by any of the parties involved,” the Sept. 18 email stated. “Because we are committed to integrity, we have consulted with local authorities. And, should we learn of any reportable offenses, we will immediately report them to the proper agencies.”

A representative from the church would not answer our questions about which authorities the church has consulted with or what reports may have been filed with the police. When reached on Friday morning, the representative referred us to contact church leadership via email with our questions.

Founded in 2000 by McKinzie, Hope Fellowship now has multiple campuses in Frisco, McKinney and Prosper, and reportedly has a total attendance of more than 5,000. Earlier in 2025, a youth pastor from one of the Frisco campuses was fired after he admitted to “inappropriate contact with a minor” years prior.

It is unclear how many sermons, or which ones specifically, have been removed from the church’s archive, but they were addressed in the Thursday email too.

“We know that these past sermons may be viewed differently, with the fullness of the information we have now, the email from co-interim lead pastors Angela Linz and Aaron Alexander reads. “At the time they were preached, we learned key principles from Scripture through John’s messages. But now, we would be viewing these teachings through the lens of current circumstances. Searching for signs of John’s sin in the midst of past messages is not going to lead to our healing. We are choosing to lean into what helps our church heal now.”