How One Church Is Responding to New Shut Down Orders

Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California explained why that church followed the shut down orders the first time, but will not be doing so this time around. Here is part of what Pastor MacArthur had to say and you can click here to read the entire article from Christian Leaders website

Last week, John MacArthur and Grace Community Church, which is located in Sun Valley California, announced they would not be adhering to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s second round of closure orders. In his announcement, “Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church”, MacArthur informed civic leaders that they had exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction, and that “faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from the restrictions they want to impose on our corporate worship services.”

Why Didn’t Grace Community Stay Open The First Time?

MacArthur addressed a question the church leadership has been asked a lot: “Why didn’t you do this at the beginning?” (IE: Defy the first stay-at-home order). He said, “We didn’t know the extent of the disease. We were told millions were going to die.” They were being protective because that was the sensible and rational thing to do given what everyone was being told about the coronavirus. “As time went on we found out that the virus wasn’t as deadly as predicted, and the commands not to assemble didn’t apply to protesters and riots.”