Pastor Timothy D. Price III Loses Denominational Promotion Over Child-Rape Conviction—But Remains In The Pulpit

A Missouri pastor's planned promotion has been abruptly canceled after denominational leaders learned that he is a registered sex offender convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl-but the minister remains in charge of his local church.

Timothy D. Price III, senior pastor of First Baptist Church City of St. Louis, was scheduled to be installed as Missouri State Overseer of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship on September 16. Those plans collapsed after public outrage erupted over Price's criminal history.

According to The Christian Post and The Roys Report, Price pleaded guilty to second-degree rape in May 2008 and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Price, who was 31 at the time, had been serving as music director at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Baltimore. He remains listed on the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Sex Offender Registry as a compliant Tier 3 offender-the state's highest tier.

Once Presiding Bishop Joseph Warren Walker III learned about the conviction, the promotion disappeared almost immediately. Walker said he personally confronted Price, who then resigned from the proposed position and all other leadership responsibilities within the fellowship.

"This information was not known to us at the time of his appointment," Walker said. "The moment it came to my attention, I moved swiftly and personally to address it directly with Dr. Price; there was no delay, and there will be none in how we respond."

Price will no longer be permitted to serve in any jurisdictional or auxiliary leadership position within the denomination. Walker also accepted responsibility for the fellowship's failure to uncover the conviction during its vetting process and apologized to members, Missouri families and everyone who had trusted its leadership.

"The safety of children and the integrity of pastoral leadership are sacred, non-negotiable priorities of this Fellowship," Walker declared, adding that the denomination is reviewing its screening procedures.

However, there is one enormous catch: Price is apparently still the senior pastor of First Baptist Church City of St. Louis.

Full Gospel officials said they cannot remove him because individual congregations within the fellowship are autonomous. Any decision concerning Price's future behind the pulpit therefore rests with the local church-and that congregation has previously defended its pastor.

Responding to concerns raised online, a church representative argued that an internet search could not determine whether someone had accepted responsibility or shown remorse. The representative said Price had served his sentence, remained compliant with registration requirements and had lived without reoffending. The church also claimed professional evaluations had concluded that the offense was isolated and that Price did not pose an ongoing threat.

Critics remain deeply troubled by the distinction between serving a prison sentence and satisfying the biblical qualifications for pastoral leadership. The controversy has also raised uncomfortable questions about how a registered Tier 3 sex offender progressed from a church music position to the pulpit-and then came within days of receiving authority over an entire state fellowship.

Price's continued position is especially striking because First Baptist Church City of St. Louis is no ordinary congregation. Founded in 1817 by formerly enslaved minister John Berry Meachum and missionary John Mason Peck, it is recognized as the oldest African American church west of the Mississippi River.

The promotion may be dead, but the scandal is far from finished. Price has lost his path to statewide power while retaining the one position that places him directly before a congregation every Sunday.

For many watching the controversy unfold, that is not the end of the story. It is the biggest unanswered question.