BEND, Ore. — The Bend-La Pine school district has stopped youth pastors from a local evangelical church from visiting students in the school cafeteria during the lunch hour.

Leaders of Bend's Westside Church used to regularly check in on students who were part of their youth-ministry program. For the last three years, the church members would visit with students about once a month at four middle schools and three high schools in Bend.

But some parents found out about the visits and complained to school and school district officials.

"For me it's a concern because middle schoolers are so impressionable, and if the school district is going to allow one religion to be represented, they have to allow other religions to be represented too," parent Judy Drake said.

Westside pastors deny any religious recruiting at the schools.

"We're just there to visit with the kids and encourage them," said Steve Stern, Westside's youth-program coordinator. "We don't have Bible studies or anything."

But Bend-La Pine Superintendent Doug Nelson said he received reports that the pastors were using the visits to organize youth-group members and perhaps introduce other children to the program.

"The result of that is that students who were not members of their church could be influenced and that clearly creates an entanglement about which we have to be concerned," Nelson said.

This is not the first time such conflicts have occurred. School districts in Oregon and across the country often struggle with balancing legal and constitutional provisions that protect religious expression while also avoiding conflicts between church and state.

In 2000, the Molalla River School District tightened lunchtime visitor rules after parents complained that a church youth pastor was offering "faith-based" answers to students concerns.

"There are some really tough legal questions that we have to sort through, and it will lead to a complete review of how we do this," Nelson said.

The church said it has complied with the district's policies and is happy to acquiesce to the suspension of the visits.

"We're not out here to ruffle feathers," Stern said. "We're just out here to love on kids and let kids know there are people there who care for them."

District officials say they plan to review district policies over the summer and have a new framework in place by the fall.