Religious Controversy

Houston megachurch slapped with sexual abuse lawsuit over youth pastor's behavior asks for prayer

A Harris County family is suing Second Baptist Church for its alleged role in the sexual assault of a then 12-year-old girl. The lawsuit, filed last week, claims that Second Baptist youth pastor Chad Foster targeted victims under the guise of spiritual leadership.

In 2013, Foster pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges and received a five-year prison term. Using the pseudonym Jane Doe, the family's civil lawsuit seeks unspecified financial damages from the megachurch for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and sexual exploitation of a minor.

The family's civil lawsuit seeks unspecified financial damages from the mega church for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Community of Faith Church, where Foster worked after Second Baptist, is also named in the suit.

Led by senior pastor Ed Young, Second Baptist Church has about 65,000 members across five campuses. It has an annual budget of $53 million.

According to the suit, Second Baptist "encouraged Foster to develop close emotional bonds with unsuspecting youth he met at public schools," yet the church did not provide any training about appropriate behavior with minors.

Instead, the suit alleges, the church focused on "enticing pre-teens" with free lunches from McDonald's and Pizza Hut.

"By engaging youth met in public schools in church activities, the parents eventually become involved as they shuttle their children to various church activities. These same parents proceed to join Second Baptist, and subsequently help grow the flock financially," the suit reads.

Once Foster won Jane's trust, he began to chat with her on Facebook and Skype. "Using Jane as his muse, Foster would expose himself and engage in acts of self-gratification while he was in his bedroom," the suit reads. "He would ask Jane to take off her clothes, talk dirty to him and help him."

Sometime after January 2011, the suit says Second Baptist "quietly passed Foster off" to another church, Community of Faith. He continued his sexual abuse of Jane, and Community of Faith "simply picked up where Second Baptist left off."

"Once again, Foster was allowed to use his guise as a youth minister as a vehicle for his own sexual interests with a minor," the suit continues. "If not for his position with Second Baptist and then Community of Faith, Foster would have been unable to victimize Jane."

Because the churches "promoted Foster as a qualified, trained and supervised youth pastor," they are liable for his misconduct, the suit alleges.

In a statement to CultureMap, Second Baptist denied any knowledge of Foster's sexual proclivities and expressed sympathy for the girl he allegedly abused.

Our hearts ache for the young lady and her family if she was subjected to the things described in the lawsuit. HOWEVER, Second Baptist Church did not know of any of those allegations. If these happened and if Second had been made aware of them, we would have immediately terminated anyone involved and ensured that such conduct did not continue for one minute. Mr. Foster’s departure from Second was not due to any sexual conduct or due to any inappropriate interactions with young people. At this point, we are praying for healing for those involved."

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Trader Joe's sets Cypress opening date, confirms Bellaire plans

Photo courtesy of Towne Lake by Caldwell Communities Facebook page

Trader Joe's is expanding, and shoppers couldn't be happier.

Two new Houston-area communities announced that they would be opening Trader Joe's locations, bringing the total number of stores in the city to nine.

On Thursday, December 18, the Towne Lake by Caldwell Communities Facebook page posted that the new Trader Joe's at 9715 Towne Lake Parkway would open at 8 am on Friday, December 19. Unsold but still-good products left over at the ribbon cutting ceremony will be donated to local nonprofits.

"Not only does Trader Joe's have great prices on food, drinks, and treats, but as a hobby florist I always find the best selections for my floral arrangements," Copperfield resident Kelsey Zuchlewski tells CultureMap. "Now, with the convenience of having a location right here in our neighborhood, I'm in heaven."

Confirmation of the Cypress opening followed an announcement on the City of Bellaire's Facebook page that a Trader Joe's would take over the former Randall's at 5130 Bellaire Blvd. The post did not specify when construction will begin or when the location will open.

"This highly anticipated addition to our community will bring a unique grocery shopping experience and further enhance the vibrant retail landscape of Bellaire," the post said. "We look forward to welcoming Trader Joe’s and will share updates as the project progresses."

The California-based chain of stores entered Houston in 2012, first in the Woodlands and then, more famously, at the old Alabama Theater space on Shepherd, where it has become a beloved local institution. Since then, the chain has expanded throughout Houston, including a Kingwood location that opened earlier this month.

Over the year, Trader Joe's has built a loyal following that rivals even H-E-B. Staff at the stores (wearing Hawaiian shirts) are trained to be extremely friendly and helpful, as well as being encouraged to purchase ownership in the company. The selection is smaller and more curated than other larger grocery stores, leading to a boutique experience that many consider to be surprisingly affordable. At least one viral TikToker claims that Trader Joe's beats H-E-B's price, although the latter undoubtedly has a larger selection of goods.

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