By Philip Phi
Posted Sep 1, 2026 at 11:51 PM
A longtime pastor with extensive ministry ties across several states has been arrested on multiple felony sex abuse charges. Wade Booth, 70, was booked into the Linn County Justice Center on Monday night, facing serious allegations including unlawful sexual relations with a minor and witness intimidation. He is currently held at the Linn County Sheriff’s Correctional Facility on a $750,000 bond.
Booth has served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pleasanton since 2007. His ministerial career spans several decades, with roots reaching back to the late 1970s in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. He graduated from Springfield, Missouri’s Baptist Bible College in 1981 and has since held various pastoral roles, including a 12-year tenure at Calvary Bible Baptist Church in Harper, Kansas. Booth also worked as a missionary church planter in Oklahoma, where he founded two churches from 1997 to 2005 before moving to Pleasanton in 2007.
The arrest of Booth underscores the importance of accountability within church leadership, echoing the biblical call for justice and mercy (Micah 6:8). While the First Baptist Church of Pleasanton has not yet commented on the matter, the situation highlights the need for vigilance and care for victims, aligning with the Christian values of truth and neighbor-love (Proverbs 31:8-9).
As the legal process unfolds, it is crucial to distinguish between allegations and convictions, ensuring that justice is served without prematurely assigning guilt. This case serves as a reminder of the responsibility of church leaders to uphold integrity and protect the vulnerable, reflecting the biblical principle that those who are entrusted with greater responsibilities are accountable for their actions (Luke 12:48).
Source: Read the original report
Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
