Members of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church are trying to cope after allegations that their youth pastor, Troy Deal, went online to solicit a child for sex.

Deal, 34, of Battle Creek, was arraigned Thursday on 11 counts of using a computer to solicit a minor for sex and accosting a child for immoral purposes.

Deal, the director of youth ministries at Chapel Hill, was arrested Wednesday morning following an attorney general's investigation that began in 2005.

According to AG reports, Deal used a computer to suggest sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He actually was corresponding with an investigator from the AG's Child Public Protection Unit.

Using the screen names "czar401" and "Marcus Barns," Deal allegedly had sexually explicit exchanges with an investigator posing as a child under the screen name "gingergirl."

According to Matt Frendewey, a spokesman for Attorney General Mike Cox, Deal had not proposed a meeting with "gingergirl," but solicited who he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sexual activity and requested pictures.

At Thursday's arraignment, Deal's legal counsel, Niels Magnusson, argued that Deal should have received a recognizance or "very small" monetary bond due to his community involvement and strong ties in Battle Creek.

"He owns a home here and has family here and is very invested in the community," Magnusson said.

Calhoun County District Court Magistrate Roger Graves disagreed and set Deal's bond at $50,000.

Deal, who is married and has two children — a 4-year-old and a two-month-old — also is under court order not to use a computer, have Internet access or have any unsupervised contact with a minor while on bond.

Deal's preliminary examination is set for July 31. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Deal was suspended by the church's Staff-Parish Relations Committee. According to the Rev. Jim Gysel, senior pastor of Chapel Hill, the committee will determine later whether the leave will be paid or unpaid.

A churchwide meeting, closed to the public, was held Thursday evening to discuss the situation.

Chapel Hill has about 1,000 attendees, according to the church Web site. Deal began as director of youth ministries in 2002 and worked with the church's youth members during summer mission trips, Sunday evening youth meetings, religious lessons and field trips.

"This completely blind-sided me and has both shocked and saddened members of our church," Gysel said Thursday during a news conference. "He had a great sense of humor, was a great father and is a man of faith. This was not the Troy I knew."