HOUSTON, June 29 (UPI) -- Six men were booted out of Lakewood Church in Houston on Sunday after allegedly heckling popular televangelist Joel Osteen during his sermon.

An eyewitness told KTRK that Osteen had just started his sermon when one of the men stood up and shouted, "Joel Osteen, you're a liar!"


Osteen continued his sermon as five other men started yelling.

Off-duty police officers working security at the service escorted the six men out of the church.

Jacob Gardner, Mark DeRouville, Kevin Fessler, Randall Valdez, Matthew Martinez and Richard Trudeau were arrested on trespassing charges.

They are all thought to be associated with the Church of Wells, a small religious group based in Wells, Texas.

"We've learned that the protesters who disrupted one of our Sunday morning services were the leaders of a small controversial church in Nacogdoches, Texas, called the Church of Wells," a spokesman for Lakewood Church said in a statement. "This group is known for protesting many Christian churches with whom they don't agree."

"Lakewood Church takes the disruption of our services seriously and plans to pursue criminal charges, as well as all other legal remedies against these individuals and the Church of Wells," he added.

The Lakewood megachurch, the country's largest Protestant church, sees an average of more than 40,000 parishioners each week. It has been led by Osteen since 1999.