A pastor who previously served several prominent Baptist churches in Texas, Georgia and Virginia is being held in the Denton County, Texas, jail on a $500,000 bond while facing charges of possession of child pornography.
Denton County public records show Jim Mustain was booked May 14 on one count of possessing more than 50 pieces of child pornography and four counts of possession or promotion of lewd visual materials depicting a child. The arresting division was the Lewisville, Texas, Police Department.
Jim Mustain
Mustain was not currently on a church staff but previously served on the ministerial staff at Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco, Texas; Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell, Texas; New Life Bible Church in Oklahoma City; Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta; and Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va.
His most recent post was at Preston Trail, where he worked as community pastor. Preston Trail is a nondenominational church with Texas Baptist roots. Mustain served there from 2019 through 2023.
Church leaders issued a statement saying after learning of the impending charges April 24, they hired a third-party law firm to investigate and found no illegal or improper activity related to his church employment.
There’s “no indication that any children connected to Preston Trail were involved or harmed,” the statement said. “Mustain’s role during his time on staff did not include direct responsibilities related to children’s or student ministries.”
Mustain also volunteered with student groups for Durham Middle School and Creekside Elementary School in Lewisville Independent School District as recently as the last school year. Lewisville ISD officials said in a letter to parents there’s no indication any of those students were affected by his alleged crimes but asked parents to come forward if they have relevant information.
He served as pastor for community and life transformation at Valley Ranch Baptist Church, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation, from 2005 to 2014. After leaving there, he founded his own ministry group called Loving Community, which he described as “being good neighbors by connecting people into relationships and serving the needs of the community.”
Loving Community is a partner organization with Mentor America to provide services to school children and senior adults. In 2016, his organization was named Nonprofit of the Year in the Lewisville, Flower Mound and Highland Village communities. Mustain also served on the boards of several other nonprofits and was a frequent officiant at weddings in the community.
From 1999 to 2005, Mustain served as associate pastor of New Life Bible Church in Oklahoma City. From 1993 to 1999, he served as executive pastor at Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta, a congregation that has been affiliated with both CBF and the Southern Baptist Convention. Prior to that, he served as senior associate pastor at Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va., an independent Baptist church.
No further information about the charges against Mustain are publicly available yet.