The Harris County Sheriff's Office says Chad Foster worked full time at the church as a youth minister. Investigators say he and the 16-year-old girl met at church.
Foster, 32, is charged with three counts of sex assault of a child. Investigators say he worked since January as a youth pastor at the Community of Faith Church on Becker Road and met a 16-year-old girl there this summer, when the two exchanged phone numbers and started texting each other.
According to detectives, Foster and the teen began having sexual relations at his home on Jelly Park Stone Drive in July, just miles from the church. Authorities say the pair had sex at least six times at the house from August through mid-October.
Court documents show the teen says Foster pushed her to keep their relationship secret. She told investigators he said, "...how important it was for her not to tell anyone ... because of the age difference." But she told deputies she started to feel bad.
"She became uncomfortable with that and eventually did tell a teacher at her school and an associate pastor at the church," a prosecutor told Eyewitness News.
Community of Faith's Executive Pastor Donald said, "It's an ongoing investigation."
Butler would talk only generically about the children of the congregation.
He said, "For us, our students are the most important thing with us. We're cooperating with authorities."
Investigators do not think Foster might have had similar relations with any other teens at the church.
Foster resigned from the church earlier this month. He is in custody at the Harris County Jail, held on $90,000 bond.