Pastor John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, isn’t the only mega-church defying Governor Gavin Newsom’s COVID-inspired edicts and mandates against worship services being held indoors.
Following Newsom’s edict on July 13 moving most of the state back to Phase 1 — a complete ban on businesses and churches from operating indoors — Greg Fairrington, pastor of Destiny Church in Rocklin, video-taped his response. He said, “We will not be shutting down our church.… I believe my mandate as pastor is to obey the word of God, and worship is a part of what we do together as a church corporately, and we need to do this. It’s important that we do this.”
He added, “We are not going to allow the government to use data that is not supported factually to shut [our] church down. Do not let the fear the media is driving, do not let the fear that is out there, affect us as a church.”
Tim Thompson, the founder and current pastor of 412 Church Murrieta in Riverside County, opened his church for in-person services before Newsom’s July 13 announcement and has stayed open ever since. Thompson told the Western Journal: “Why is anyone allowing a government leader … why are we allowing the government to tell the church what to do, ever? That is what men and women fought and died for during the Revolutionary War: that we wouldn’t have the church being mandated by the state on how we worship God, where we worship God … what time, what manner.”
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