MIAMI — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Friday on behalf of two groups of Christians told they must purchase 2.5 acres of land before meeting for prayer and Bible study. Miami-Dade County officials slapped International Outreach Center and Worldwide Agape Ministries with orders to cease and desist meeting unless members can procure the acreage required, even if only two or three people are in attendance.
“People can gather each week at someone’s home to watch football, but they can’t gather to read the Bible and pray without being forced to buy 2.5 acres of land. I think that would strike most people as ridiculous,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. “It is unconstitutional for the county to bully these ministries when there is no minimum acreage requirement for other assembly-use businesses, such as pool halls, theaters, convention centers, and private clubs.”
For more than 10 years, International Outreach Center has used its property as a meeting place for prayer, Bible study, discussion, and singing of religious songs. On April 21, IOC received a code violation notice from the county stating that the group needed to apply for a Certificate of Use. Officials responded to IOC’s application by stating that the group would need to purchase 2.5 acres of land or stop meeting.
Worldwide Agape Ministries, a small, home-based religious ministry which meets for prayer, Bible reading and discussion, and singing, received a cease-and-desist order from county zoning officials. The officials stated that even a regular gathering of two to three people is not permitted and that the group would need 2.5 acres of land to continue their activities.
A copy of the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in
International Outreach Center v. Miami-Dade County is available at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/IOCComplaint.pdf.
“The limitation placed on these ministries acts as a major roadblock, particularly since land in south Florida is so expensive,” Oster said. “County officials cannot be permitted to continue the enforcement of these broad restrictions against those who simply want to exercise their freedom of religion.”
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
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