California Tells "Church on the Beach" to Take a Hike

Some 120 people gather in the sands of Redondo Beach near Los Angeles for worship service every Sunday. Worshipers come for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from those who feel scorned by traditional church services to those who simply enjoy their churchgoing with a side of ocean breeze.

Now, after nearly two decades of beachside ministry, Los Angeles County has a message for this longstanding Christian service: Take it inside.

Church on the Beach

For the last 18 years, King’s Harbor Church in Los Angeles has been bringing the gospel to parishioners at Redondo Beach in what they call “Church on the Beach.” 

The service was properly permitted by the county, but after Church on the Beach became its own 501(c)(3) last year, the permit needed to be reissued. That’s when the church learned that the county recently changed their policy, and that the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors would no longer be issuing yearly permits for religious services.

They were told that Church on the Beach was grandfathered into a plan allowing continued religious service – but only six per year. That's a far cry from the 52 they typically hold. 

In response, the church has lawyered up and is prepared to move from the beach to the courtroom.

A Sandy Situation

LA County is “expressly discriminating against religious groups in public spaces” reads the lawsuit brought by Church on the Beach’s legal team, The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). Their lawyers argue that faith groups are being held to a different standard than non-faith groups – who have no such restrictions on the frequency or regularity of beach meetings.

“It is unlawful for a public entity to treat religious groups differently or less favorably than non-religious groups with regard to the access of public forums,” reads the suit. “Accordingly, we demand that LA County immediately cease from discriminating against Church on the Beach for its religious activity, and instead immediately agree to allow the church to continue meeting.”

According to the ACLJ, a county official told a Church on the Beach pastor that they “don’t need the beach” because they can “meet in a building,” which they say shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the beach service. "The beach location isn't merely a preference,” says Nathan Moelker, ACLJ Associate Counsel. “It's a crucial component of their ministry's outreach to those who might never step foot in a conventional church." 

Is It Discrimination?

Church on the Beach’s lawyers argue that it is blatantly unconstitutional to limit religious gatherings in a public space, especially when other non-religious groups do not have such restrictions. They say that they simply cannot take their worship inside, and that the beach location is not some gimmick; It is a crucial part of their ministry and a necessary setting to reach those scorned by traditional church services.

The county says the rules are clear: permits for religious activities at the beach are no longer being issued, and the church is not entitled to use a public beach as their weekly worship location. However, they did offer the group a special plan to hold services six times a year in honor of their longstanding relationship. 

What do you think? Is this a case of religious discrimination against a Christian group spreading the gospel at the beach? Or is the county fully within their right to decide what sorts of events can take place on public lands?