We have another instance of a registered sex offender being used in a position at a United Pentecostal Church.
It should come as no surprise to the readers of this website that we believe it to be very unwise for churches to use registered sex offenders in any position. We have seen time and again in the news where such people reoffend.
When someone is used in an official position in a church, it can be seen by members as giving them a sense of legitimacy. People may assume they are trustworthy and safe and that background checks have been made and they have been cleared.
Justin Scott Gardner, born November 17, 1982, is a registered sex offender who was convicted in California in September 2003 of two counts of lewd and lascivious acts involving children/intercourse and the victim is under 14 years of age. The age of the victim on the registry shows as 12 and 13 years old. He is a member of The Apostolic Church of Beaumont (TAC) in Texas, where Jason Carr is pastor. This is a legally affiliated United Pentecostal Church. Back in 2023, we made a series of posts about this church. (See August 20, 2023, August 20, 2023 #2, August 21, 2023, August 21, 2023 #2, August 23, 2023, June 23, 2023– unrelated to the others)
Justin Gardner has been one of the praise singers at TAC and besides being seen in videos of their services, he is also seen along with others on the ministries section of the church website. Attached are screenshots which show him singing on the platform and being mentioned as far back as 2019 in an official post from the church. It has been alleged that Jason Carr is aware that Gardner is a sex offender.
It is always concerning when any church uses a convicted sex offender in any type of leadership role or preaching capacity. A pastor is unwise to allow this. Has Justin Gardner been permitted to be around minors at the church? Have members and visitors been made aware of him being on the registry? If you are a parent of a minor and are a member or are visiting this church, you should be aware of this situation.
I originally posted about this on June 1, 2026 on our Facebook Page.
You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.
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