Judge Grants California Church Trial To Defend Constitutional Right To Worship

Grace Community Church and its Pastor John MacArthur won another victory in their journey to fight for their constitutional right to worship on Thursday when a judge awarded them the opportunity for a trial.

Despite multiple attempts by Los Angeles County to prevent the church from meeting, in which they imposed fines, threatened arrest, and even terminated a parking lot lease between the city and Grace, the church continued to disregard the orders from the county and keep meeting.

“I’m very grateful to Judge Beckloff for providing full due process and recognizing the importance of these constitutional protections. The reality is that the county cannot show that their order is even rational, much less necessary,” MacArthur said.

In a previous order by Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff, the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction that was intended to prohibit MacArthur and Grace from “conducting, participating in, or attending any indoor worship services.”