Church Will Fight Ventura County Threat to Shut it Down
County Medical Director threatens action on Calvary Chapel Godspeak’s refusal to shut down as ordered. Church responds defiantly.
Calvary Chapel Godspeak (CCTO- Newbury Park) Senior Pastor Rob McCoy does not shy away from controversy in the name of what he believes right. With no regrets, he watched congregants peel away when he took controversial and politically incorrect positions of principle on multiple social and political issues over the years. But this also attracted new supporters to the congregation and allies such as Sen Rand Paul, Senator Shannon Grove, Charlie Kirk (Turning Point). He turned down a prestigious university deanship to stay and minister to his flock. He attracted supporters who poured millions of dollars into Calvary Chapel to turn the YMCA into a new church.
He was Thousand Oaks Mayor and a Councilman. When he and church elders decided to reopen the church in defiance of government orders, he first resigned his Council office. The church was reopened with strict precautions- stricter than stores open. Around the same time, the county permitted reopening again. When the County recently ordered churches closed again, Calvary T.O. did not comply.
McCoy announced a Saturday evening online “fireside chat,” promising it would be an important announcement, vital to the church/congregation.
It seems that having the church fully open has attracted attention, leading to complaints and threats from the county to “take action”.
During the event, McCoy said County Health Director Rego Vargas contacted him and asked him if he was in compliance with the order. McCoy asked him if he had called all churches and added that they are in compliance with the First Amendment (which keeps government out of religious affairs). He wondered why BLM isn’t being prosecuted for its destructive actions.
He believes that the sick should be quarantined, not the healthy.
County Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin, who has attracted so much attention due to hyper-enforcing state guidelines, claiming the force of law, works for Vargas.
McCoy said he told Vargas to consider his “Return On Investment” in any enforcement actions and that he would vigorously contest any shutdown actions, make it difficult and ensure that it received very high visibility and “national narrative.” The county has had brutal coverage from conservative media for what sounded like threats to forcibly relocate quarantined people and from last week’s forcible lockdown of the apartment building at 137 S. Palm in Ventura.
He said he told Vargas that he might succeed in shutting the church down, but it wouldn’t go quietly and that he might even take it to the President. McCoy said they would demand the unsealing of records to show actual causes of death, testing records and people who were classified positive with no testing, that families would be asked about cause of death and this would be compared with records, claims of causes of deaths.
He told the congregation that the “gloves are off”, that they are “all lawyered up” ready for a fight and that he would hold an emergency meeting with the church elders to decide on next actions.
He noted that some other churches are also defying orders and noted their compliance with a higher authority. But he said we should not shake our fists and said he told Vargas that he was praying for him, asked that God give him wisdom and said that he stood only against his ideology, not him and that the congregation should do the same.
Meanwhile, he solicited everyone’s support and said while “the noose is tightening,” their resolve has grown stronger. He asked them to pray, to spread the word and invited all to live, in-person Sunday church services at 9, 11 and 1 tomorrow. He says he’s not sure if the county would move tomorrow or next Sunday.
https://www.citizensjournal.us/church-will-fight-ventura-county-threat-to-shut-it-down/