The Freedom to Worship Is Not up for Debate

By Liberty Counsel Staff

Imagine driving to church on a Sunday morning and being met with an empty parking lot and police on location to ensure that you do not attempt to go to church that day.

On January 25, 2026, this exact scene played out for Coastal Family Church in Flagler Beach, Florida, since the church was prohibited from holding in-person worship services due to an unconstitutional court order. Not even six years since churches nationwide were forced to close during the COVID era, it was obvious the government hadn’t learned its lesson.

Why Coastal Family Church Was Forced to Close Its Doors

To understand why Coastal Family Church was prohibited from worshipping in its own building, let’s back up to last year. The church purchased a unit in the Flagler Square strip mall in July 2025 while Flagler Square – JAX was also interested in the property. The church was slapped with a lawsuit from Flagler Square – JAX in August 2025 that eventually led them to close their doors for the last Sunday in January.

In its lawsuit, Flagler Square – JAX, Inc. alleges that the church’s presence causes parking congestion, but on a typical Sunday, more than 160 parking spots are left available for a Dollar Tree, breakfast restaurant, consignment shop, Florida Tax Collector’s office (which is closed on Sundays), lawyer’s office (which is closed on Sundays), and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge. The lawsuit also cites a condominium covenant that bans “public assembly” in the strip mall. However, the strip mall is also home to businesses that host regular bingo nights and rent out their facility for public assembly.

Mind you, the church is not in hot water with the city, county, or any government jurisdiction. Instead, they are up against Flagler Square – JAX, Inc., a fellow property owner in the strip mall who lost the opportunity to purchase the unit the church owns and is alleging a violation of the condominium covenant. So, in turn, Flagler Square – JAX, Inc. shackled a Christian church with a meritless lawsuit and trampled on the constitutional rights of the church’s congregants.

The property was successfully rezoned to be a church and is fully compliant with United States and Florida law. No laws were broken, no harm was done, and the church meets the parking quota requirements. The only scrutiny the church doesn’t hold up to is the Flagler Square – JAX, Inc., assuming its desire to purchase the building the church occupies.

As a result, Coastal Family Church was forced to choose between canceling worship services or being held in contempt of court.

All of this came to a head on Sunday, January 25, when, in response to this lawsuit, an injunction by the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court forced Coastal Family Church and Pastor Roderick Palmer to close its doors — in violation of Florida law and First Amendment freedom of speech, assembly, and religious exercise.

A Constitutional Turn of Events

On Wednesday, January 28, Liberty Counsel filed an emergency appeal to reverse the temporary injunction that prohibited Coastal Family Church from in-person worship. And on late Friday afternoon, January 30, the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal granted an emergency motion, allowing the church to proceed with worship in-person and open its doors on Sunday.

“Being deprived of this fundamental right — for even one additional Sunday — would do irreparable harm to [Coastal Family Church] and its congregants,” the order read.

The American colonists didn’t flee religious tyranny to forge a nation where a church could be legally threatened out of worshipping in person. The American founders didn’t draft a Constitution that fails to protect against such abuses. And an American church cannot be forced out of assembling for worship based on an unlawful injunction resulting from the whims of a fellow tenant’s lawsuit (or public health crisis, for that matter).

Coastal Family Church is free to continue meeting on Sunday until a final decision is reached. And as Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Being deprived of religious liberty involving worship is an irreparable harm... Every Sunday a church is forced to close its doors inflicts irreparable spiritual and constitutional injury on its congregation.”

The freedom to worship is not, and never will be, up for debate. As this case continues, Liberty Counsel will keep fighting to ensure Coastal Family Church is never forced to close its doors again.