Over the years, local government has tried to interfere with Christians and church ministry to the broken and hurting.
I’ve often written about Christians and pastors standing for what is right against oppressive government.
Now, a pastor in Ohio is under attack.
He believes Jesus’ mission for his church is to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, visit the prisoner, clothe the naked, and care for the widows and orphans.
And that’s exactly what this little church in Ohio was doing until local lawmakers told him to stop.
“Imagine that,” Pastor Chris Avell of Dad’s Choice Church said in an interview with Fox News. “These lawmakers would rather see these people out on the streets, in the cold, and hungry, rather than stay in the church.”
The city of Bryan, Ohio, filed 18 criminal charges against the church, and it was hit with hundreds of dollars in “zoning” fines. But Pastor Avell will not back down. “This is the church… We are here to help people.”
The town zoning laws say the church can’t house the homeless because there are “no bedrooms or beds, and people are not allowed to eat or sleep on the property.”
The city gave the Pastor 10 days to get the people out of the church and close his ministry.
“People don’t want to sleep in a church,” Pastor Avell said. “But I won’t throw them out in the dead of winter.”
“Officials in Bryan, Ohio, would rather see these homeless people freeze out in the cold than be warm inside and taken care of by the church,” said Jeremy Dice, Avell’s attorney. “It’s unconscionable.”
“Many of these people have been rejected by their families and cast aside by their communities,” Pastor Avell continued. “So, if the church isn’t willing to lay down their life for them, who will? This is the mission of the church… It’s what we’re called to do… Showing the love of Christ, preaching the truth, and laying down our lives in service and humility as Jesus did.”
Click HERE to see the complete 5-minute interview on Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher.
Action:
- Pray for the homeless
- Pray for the pastor and the city to back down
- Pray that the gospel is spread nationwide with this persecution