Stephen Kihnley, who led youth ministries at the church, was terminated and had his license with the Nazarene church revoked, pastor Grant Miller confirmed. The licensure removal bars Kihnley from serving as a pastor anywhere in the denomination.

The woman, now 20, said the conduct began when she was 15 and included inappropriate touching during a game at church and sexualized messages sent over Snapchat. She is not being identified because of the allegations involving her as a minor.

Kihnley did not respond to multiple requests for comment, including calls and a visit to his home.

According to the woman, Kihnley initially presented himself as an engaged and fun youth leader who added teenagers on Snapchat and messaged with them regularly. She said the relationship shifted during a church game when Kihnley pulled her against him from behind, rubbed against her and asked whether she liked it.

She also described a pattern of messages that she said carried sexual meaning, including questions about dating, declarations of love and references she found explicit. She said he messaged her about her menstrual cycle and sent photos of himself in a tank top.

"There were days where I remember crying myself to sleep because I remember knowing that this is wrong, but I don't know how it's wrong," she said.

This summer, the woman said, she saw Kihnley at a conference with another young person and decided to confide in Janet Killingsworth, a church member and parent. Killingsworth encouraged her to bring her account to Miller.

Killingsworth said the conversation left her shaken. "This is somebody that we loved and trusted," she said, adding that seeing the messages made her sick.

Miller said he confronted Kihnley about the conduct. While Kihnley disputed some of the allegations, Miller said, he acknowledged that screen captures of the messages were authentic and recognized the exchanges were deeply problematic.

"The behavior was completely inappropriate," Miller said, describing it as outside the bounds of what is permissible and healthy for a pastor entrusted with leadership responsibility.

At the time of Kihnley's termination, the woman had documented only a handful of Snapchat messages. She believed more existed but thought they were lost because Snapchat messages can disappear after being viewed.

After learning about Tennessee's new anti-grooming law, which took effect in July, the woman went to police. She said a Metro Nashville detective showed her how to recover messages she had saved years earlier, when she was 14 and 15.

"I knew that they were suspicious and I knew that they were weird," she said of why she saved them at the time.

Asked whether she believes she was groomed, she said: "One hundred percent. I know that I was."

Metro Nashville police investigated, including interviewing Miller, and presented findings to the district attorney's office. The DA's office said the statute of limitations for sexual battery has passed.

The new state law, the Tennessee Anti-Grooming Act, does not apply to conduct that occurred before it took effect, according to state Rep. Jody Barrett, a co-sponsor. Barrett said the legislation targets predatory grooming behavior before a sexual relationship develops.

Asked what message the law sends to victims of past conduct, Barrett said: "What I would say to victims that have experienced this in the past is we hear you and we're doing something about it. And we're going to make sure that others don't experience the same thing you did."

The church also reported the matter to the Tennessee Department of Children's Services child abuse hotline. DCS said it has no active investigation and declined to explain why, citing privacy. The agency generally investigates cases involving minors, and the woman is now an adult.

The woman said she also spoke with a detective in Gallatin, where Kihnley lives in Sumner County. Gallatin police did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Following Kihnley's termination, Miller said the church overhauled its social media policy. Snapchat can no longer be used to communicate with members of the youth group.

Reflecting on what she would say to Kihnley now, the woman said: "I think I would just say, I mean, you didn't get away with it. Police are still looking into this. People are still talking about it. And that's on you."