By Steven Rosenbaum

    Texas (KTVT) -- The founding pastor of Hope Fellowship Church, which draws thousands of worshippers each week, has resigned after confessing to what church leaders described as "sexual sin and moral failure," according to an email sent to the church community.

In the email sent Tuesday morning, leaders announced the departure of John McKinzie. According to the letter, McKinzie confessed during a meeting with church leadership on Sunday and offered his resignation Monday, which the board accepted.

The letter did not provide details on his admission. An attached FAQ stated, "John admitted to sexual sin and to a pattern of consensual behavior that made him unfit to continue in his role as pastor."

The FAQ also said the "Directional Leadership Team, Board, Elders and Pastoral Lead Team" will oversee the church until a new lead pastor is named.

As of Thursday morning, Hope Fellowship's website no longer mentioned McKinzie and instead listed Angela Linz and Aaron Alexander as co-interim lead pastors. An archived version of the site indicated McKinzie and his wife have four children.

John McKinzie and the stabbing of Austin Metcalf

CBS News Texas spoke with McKinzie in April following the death of Austin Metcalf, a Frisco high school student who was fatally stabbed at a district track meet. Karmelo Anthony, another Frisco ISD student, is charged with Metcalf's murder. A trial is currently scheduled for next summer.

McKinzie offered a trauma workshop for members of the Hope Fellowship congregation, which includes the Metcalf family. A number of other congregants were at the scene including other students, teachers and first responders.

"I can't speak for the whole community, but I certainly speak to our church. And I just felt like it was important to help us focus in the right direction," he said.

McKinzie also spoke about the harms of social media, at a time when misinformation and vitriol were spreading about the case online.

He urged the church to pray for the Metcalf family, as well as Anthony and his family.

"Everyone matters to God. And if they matter to God, they matter to me. They matter to us. And I'm praying for him daily, praying for his family, praying for my friends, the Metcalf family, praying for our students, praying for our community," McKinzie said.

Hope Fellowship student pastor removed earlier this year

McKinzie's resignation is the second instance of a Hope Fellowship pastor being dismissed for sexual behavior this year.

In January, the church announced it had fired student pastor Jerry Nickerson after he admitted to having "inappropriate contact with a minor" a decade prior.

Nickerson told church leadership it happened while volunteering in a youth leader role at another church. In an email sent to the congregation at the time, McKinzie wrote that Nickerson came forward with the information on Monday after being confronted about "past incidents" over the weekend.

"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," McKinzie wrote in the email.

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