Seth Udinski, FISM News

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Since 2020, Pastor John MacArthur and his congregation, Grace Community Church, have been in the midst of a legal battle with the state of California because they continued to meet together for indoor church services despite the state’s strict pandemic lockdown measures. This past week, Grace Community Church was granted a large cash settlement following an inspiring legal victory for the freedom of religion.

The church received $400,000 from Los Angeles County and will also be awarded an additional $400,000 from the state of California. In February, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Grace Community Church and prohibited the state of California from enforcing restrictions prohibiting the church’s right to gather for indoor worship.

Following the settlement, Los Angeles County released a statement saying:

After the US Supreme Court ruled that some public health safety measures could not apply to houses of worship, resolving this litigation is the responsible and appropriate thing to do. From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles County has been committed to protecting the health and safety of its residents. We are grateful to the county’s faith organizations for their continued partnership to keep their congregants and the entire community safe and protected from COVID-19.

Dr. MacArthur has exemplified faithful biblical shepherding throughout the pandemic lockdowns. He revealed recently that he and his wife Patricia contracted the virus in the winter of 2021, but reiterated his stance that the church should not have an overwhelming fear of the virus:

The natural immunity that God has designed is the greatest protection.

The church is reportedly donating the entirety of the funds from the settlement to their attorneys at the Thomas More Society. MacArthur said,

Nothing will come to [Grace Community Church] except the affirmation that the Lord preserved and protected us through this.