Dear supporter,
Retired pastor Clive Johnston will stand trial at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court, Co. Londonderry, tomorrow (Wednesday).
He will plead not guilty to the vague charge of “influencing” people accessing abortion services when he preached on John 3:16 at a Sunday service on the fringes of a censorship zone in July 2024. Crucially, abortion was never mentioned.
If convicted, the 76-year-old grandfather of seven and former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland faces a criminal record and potential fines totalling thousands of pounds.
The already unjust buffer zones laws should not be used to outlaw acts of worship and criminalise gospel preaching.
Watch now
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Please pray:
- That Clive would be vindicated and God would be glorified;
- That his case creates the opportunity for a legal precedent that protects gospel freedom more widely;
- For the legal team supporting Clive, including the Institute’s Sam Webster;
- For fair and widespread coverage of the case.
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“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
JOHN 3:16
Yours in Christ,
Ciarán Kelly
Director
The Christian Institute
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