by Stefan Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, USA (Worthy News) – Authorities in the most populous county of the United States have banned meetings of Church on the Beach, which had been holding public beach services for nearly two decades.
The decision by Los Angeles County has been challenged by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). “For 18 years, Church on the Beach has been faithfully serving its community by holding worship services on Redondo Beach with proper permits from Los Angeles County,” the advocacy group said in a statement obtained by Worthy News on Tuesday.
“Approximately 120 people gather every Sunday morning to worship in God’s creation, with many attendees specifically choosing this setting because they have had difficult or negative experiences in traditional church buildings,” the ACLJ added.
The group said its legal team sent a detailed demand letter to officials, outlining the “constitutional violations” of singling out one organization because of its viewpoint and discriminating against members.
“Our letter made it clear that the county’s actions violate well-established First Amendment principles as articulated by the Supreme Court in cases like Widmar v. Vincent and Lamb’s Chapel.”
The ACLJ warned that it had given Los Angeles County “until March 20, 2025, to provide assurances that this discriminatory policy will be ended and that churches will be free to use the beach under the same generally applicable rules as nonreligious gatherings.”
NO PERMITS
Yet the Department of Beaches and Harbors recently told the Church on the Beach that it would no longer issue yearly permits for “religious activities,” Worthy News learned.
Instead, the county reportedly announced that “grandfathered” groups would be allowed only six annual events, with $250 permit fees required for four.
It also is restricting the meetings to specific locations.
“The key fact: None of these rules apply to nonreligious groups. Even more concerning, a county official told the pastor that churches ‘don’t need the beach’ because they can ‘meet in a building’ – a statement that demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of both religious freedom and the specific ministry of Church on the Beach,” the ACLJ complained.
The Church on the Beach views its mission as reaching at least some of the county’s nearly 9.7 million people with the Gospel who may otherwise not attend worship services.
The ACLJ added that the “beach location isn’t merely a preference – it’s a crucial component of their ministry’s outreach to those who might never step foot in a conventional church.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
President Donald Trump said Sunday he will refuse to sign any additional legislation until Congress passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, escalating pressure on lawmakers to advance the voter-identification bill that has stalled in the Senate.
Authorities say a suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before throwing an improvised explosive device during a protest near Gracie Mansion, triggering a major investigation involving federal and local law enforcement.
The Israeli military said Sunday that an overnight strike in Beirut killed five senior liaison officials connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and Hezbollah, dealing what it described as a significant blow to coordination between the Iranian regime and its Lebanese proxy.
Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts announced Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei has been selected as the country’s new supreme leader, replacing his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the opening phase of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
The number of missiles launched by Iran has dropped by roughly 90% since the opening day of the war, according to the commander of U.S. Central Command, as American and Israeli forces establish near-total aerial dominance over the country.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump was weighing deploying special forces to seize Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium as Israel expanded strikes on targets in Iran and Lebanon, escalating the war in the Middle East that has already left more than 1,500 people dead across the region, officials said.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at Dover Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Delaware on Saturday to receive the remains of six American soldiers killed during the first days of combat operations linked to U.S. strikes on Iran, as tensions across the Middle East continued to escalate.