Calvary Chapel Church Issued a Statement After a Local Pastor was Arrested

Calvary Chapel in Boise has issued a statement after a local pastor was arrested this month on child sex abuse charges.

Bret Allen Welty was arraigned this week on a charge of sexual abuse of a minor and a charge of lewd conduct with a minor. Court records state Welty had spent 20 years with Calvary Chapel Church in Boise and several years with Common Ground Riders Church.

Calvery told CBS2 on Wednesday that Welty never served in any ministry leadership role.

“Bret Welty and his family attended Calvary Boise off and on beginning in the late 1990s. At various times he has done sound production and played music for some of our services. Our last connection with Bret was in the summer of 2018 when he did sound production work for us for a few months, after which he stopped attending Calvary Boise. Welty was never a pastor at our church, nor was he in a ministry leadership position.”

Welty is a church leader at his house church, called the Hard Rock Revival church.

Court documents showed the alleged abuse happened in Welty’s house church.

Welty’s next scheduled court appearance is Aug. 29. He faces up to life in prison.