Justin Bieber castigates paparazzi for taking his photos outside church

Justin Bieber performs at the Jingle Ball 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia December 12, 2012. | Reuters/Tami Chappell

Justin Bieber has been accustomed to paparazzi taking his photos most of the time, but last week, the pop sensation castigated the photographers who were hounding him after a church service.

The singer was stepping out of the Hillsong LA Church after the midweek service on Wednesday last week when he was met with a group of paparazzi trying to take his photos.

Bieber allowed the photographers to take pictures for awhile, then asked them to put their cameras down and invited them for a chat.

"I don't know how many times I've gotta tell you this. It's absolutely ridiculous that you guys are doing this outside of service," Bieber told the photographers, as reported by Hello Christian.

"Outside of Church, you guys got hearts right? Listen, everywhere else. But this right here, I can't look at God and say these guys are doing what you want them to do. This is ridiculous. It is preposterous, it is awful, it is mean," the singer continued.

The controversial pop star explained to the photographers that he came to church to "get rest for my soul," but he complained that his state of mind changes every time he steps out of the church.

"This is my place that I get rest for my soul. Then I come out here and it's pandemonium. You just take all I just did in there and you take it away. That's not nice. Thank you, I just want you guys to know that," he said.

Bieber is officially a member of Hillsong NYC, which holds its services in Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom. But the singer has also been seen attending services across the U.S. and overseas.

The pop star has become a close friend of pastor Carl Lentz, who is credited with making Hillsong trendy with LA and New York's millennial socialites and celebrities.

Hillsong, which has an estimated weekly attendance of 100,000 people worldwide, was founded in Sydney, Australia in 1983 by ex-window cleaner Brian Houston and his wife Bobbie.

Other celebrities who have attended its services include, Selena Gomez, Hailey Baldwin, basketball star Kevin Durant, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, as well as their half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

A recent addition to the list is "Guardians of the Galaxy" megastar Christ Pratt, who was seen attending the evening service at Hillsong's Los Angeles parish last week. The actor has always been vocal about his Christian faith, but it is believed that he has only recently become associated with Hillsong.