The Grace Community Church lawsuit landscape in 2025 and 2026 centers on three active civil cases in California courts: a Sacramento County suit accusing the Sun Valley megachurch of aiding and abetting an alleged child abuser, a Los Angeles County suit by a former member who says the church publicly shamed her after she sought help for domestic violence, and a whistleblower suit by three former facilities workers who say they were fired after refusing to demolish asbestos-containing flooring. The church, led for 56 years by pastor John MacArthur until his death in July 2025, also settled a high-profile COVID-19 worship-restriction dispute in 2021 and was the defendant in a landmark 1988 California Supreme Court clergy-counseling case.
Jane Doe v. Grace Community Church
The most serious of the pending suits was filed September 29, 2025, in Sacramento County Superior Court. A woman identified as Jane Doe, suing on behalf of herself and three minor children, brought four causes of action against the church and her former husband Clinton Jung: childhood sexual abuse, negligence, domestic violence, and aiding and abetting domestic violence. The plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial.1Bishop Accountability. Grace Community Church Accused of Aiding and Abetting Alleged Child Abuser Lawsuit
According to the 25-page complaint, Doe reported to church leaders in 2021 that Jung had sexually abused their toddler-aged daughter. She said she had discovered photographs of the child posed between Jung’s legs with his zipper down. The complaint alleges Jung admitted to “tongue-kissing” the child and, during later court-ordered supervised visits, forced her to touch or look at his genitals on separate occasions.2The Roys Report. Grace Community Church Pressured Mother to Return Children to Abuser
The suit alleges that church leaders, despite being mandatory reporters under California law, repeatedly failed to report the suspected abuse and instead “purposefully concealed” the conduct while pressuring Doe to submit to her husband and remain in the home. A Bible study leader, Dave Bierhorst, and his wife allegedly dismissed the photos, telling Doe not to “worry about the pictures” because “every guy is obsessed with his parts down there.” When Doe called 911 during a dangerous incident, the complaint says an elder called her that same night to rebuke her for “overreacting.” The suit also claims church leaders discouraged Doe from sharing photographic evidence with leadership because doing so might trigger a mandatory report, and that leaders later testified for Jung in family court, helping him obtain the supervised visits during which further abuse allegedly occurred.2The Roys Report. Grace Community Church Pressured Mother to Return Children to Abuser3Premier Christian News. Lawsuit Accuses Grace Community Church Aiding and Abetting Alleged Child Abuser
The complaint quotes a 2023 letter from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office declining to file criminal charges against Jung because prosecutors could not prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt. The letter blamed the church’s interference, stating that leadership’s attempt to handle the matter “in house” had “muddled what could have been helpful evidence” and potentially prevented a successful prosecution.4Church Leaders. Jane Doe v. Grace Community Church, Complaint for Damages
The case is assigned to Judge Richard K. Sueyoshi. Jung answered the complaint in early 2026, and a stipulation and order was entered in March 2026. A case management conference is set for November 20, 2026. The church has not filed a motion to dismiss as of mid-2026.5UniCourt. Jane Doe, et al. v. Grace Community Church of the Valley, et al. Plaintiffs’ counsel Shounak Dharap of Arns Davis Law said the complaint reflects an “ongoing pattern” of the church covering up and facilitating abuse. A church spokesperson said the church “does not have a comment at this time.”1Bishop Accountability. Grace Community Church Accused of Aiding and Abetting Alleged Child Abuser Lawsuit
Zielinski v. Grace Community Church
Former member Lorraine Zielinski filed suit against the church on July 3, 2025, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Zielinski alleges that after she sought counseling for a physically abusive marriage, church leaders violated her privacy and pressured her to drop a request for legal separation. When she tried to resign her membership, the complaint says leaders refused to accept the resignation because she was under church discipline, and threatened to publicly disclose confidential counseling details if she did not attend a meeting with pastors. The church eventually shared private information with the congregation and, she says, misrepresented her communications to portray her as the party at fault.6Religion News Service. Former Member Sues John MacArthur’s Church After Public Shaming
Zielinski’s claims include violation of privacy, public disclosure of private facts, false light, breach of confidentiality, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of the right to free association. Legal experts quoted in coverage of the case noted that such claims often face First Amendment challenges, because courts are generally reluctant to intervene in internal church governance and discipline.6Religion News Service. Former Member Sues John MacArthur’s Church After Public Shaming A church representative told local media in mid-2025 that the lawsuit was “still under review.”7Signal SCV. Woman Sues Church Claiming It Wouldn’t Let Her Leave
Asbestos Whistleblower Suit
On August 29, 2025, three former facilities employees—Mauricio Calderon, Jose Lara, and Chad Pritchett—sued the church in Los Angeles County Superior Court for whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination. The complaint says they were assigned to demolish asbestos-containing flooring at a church-owned property in Arleta that was being converted into a school, without protective equipment. A supervisor initially lied about whether the material had been tested, according to the complaint, and independent laboratory results later confirmed asbestos was present.8The Roys Report. Grace Community Church Lied About Asbestos at School, Then Fired Workers Complaining, Lawsuit Alleges
After the employees refused to keep working and a Cal/OSHA investigation was opened, the plaintiffs say they were given two weeks to resign and then fired. Cal/OSHA cited the church for a safety violation and imposed a $1,125 civil penalty. The workers, also represented by Arns Davis Law, seek damages for medical expenses, lost wages, emotional distress, and punitive damages.9The Christian Post. Grace Community Church Sued by Ex-Employees, Fined by State
The Pattern the Current Suits Point To
The 2025 abuse and privacy suits both reference earlier incidents that plaintiffs’ lawyers describe as part of an institutional pattern. A February 2023 Christianity Today investigation documented allegations from multiple women that the church’s counseling ministry had pressured abuse victims to remain with their husbands, discouraged them from contacting police, and subjected them to discipline when they resisted. The reporting focused on the church’s “biblical counseling” practice, under which counselors may disclose session details to leaders if a counselee is deemed unrepentant, and on a formal discipline process that can end with public announcement at a Communion service.10Christianity Today. Grace Community Church Elder Biblical Counseling Abuse
The Eileen Gray Case
The most extensively documented earlier incident involves Eileen Gray, whom MacArthur publicly disciplined in 2002 for refusing to reconcile with her estranged husband, David Gray, a former music teacher at the church. MacArthur called her refusal “unrepentant sin.” David Gray was arrested in February 2004 on a felony warrant charging multiple counts of sexual and physical abuse of children.11Los Angeles Times. Teacher Arrested on Felony Warrant He was convicted in 2005 and is serving 21 years to life for aggravated child molestation, corporal injury to a child, and child abuse. At a March 2022 parole hearing, commissioners denied parole for 10 years and said he had “weaponized religion and used the church to gain trust.”12The Roys Report. John MacArthur Church Supported Convicted Abuser The church never retracted Eileen Gray’s discipline.10Christianity Today. Grace Community Church Elder Biblical Counseling Abuse
The Cho Memo
In 2022, the church’s own 37-member elder board asked lawyer and elder Hohn Cho to review the Gray case. Cho concluded “beyond a reasonable doubt” that David Gray was guilty and that the church had committed a “terrible injustice” against Eileen Gray. He submitted a 20-page memo urging leaders to “do justice.” According to Cho, MacArthur told him to “forget it,” and elder board chair Chris Hamilton told him he would need to “walk back” his findings to remain an elder. Cho resigned the next day. He later said congregants seeking counseling for abuse at the church were “playing Russian roulette.”13The Roys Report. Former Elder at John MacArthur’s Church Confronts Awful Patterns of Endangering Abuse Victims10Christianity Today. Grace Community Church Elder Biblical Counseling Abuse
Bill Shannon
Bill Shannon, the elder who oversaw the biblical counseling ministry, was named by multiple women as having discouraged them from reporting abuse. In 2023, four women filed a formal complaint with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. The ACBC removed Shannon from its approved-counselor list and its conference speaking roster, and Shannon resigned from the church while the ACBC complaint was still pending.14The Roys Report. Grace Community Church No Longer Certified to Train Biblical Counselors Church leaders responded to the 2023 reporting by saying elders do not publicly discuss counseling or discipline cases and by describing the accusations as “attacks, lies, misrepresentations and anonymous accusations.”10Christianity Today. Grace Community Church Elder Biblical Counseling Abuse
The 2021 COVID-19 Settlement
A separate and unrelated matter is often searched alongside the current abuse cases. In March 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered California houses of worship closed. Grace Community Church initially complied but in July 2020 resumed unrestricted indoor services. The City of Los Angeles issued a cease-and-desist letter threatening a $1,000 daily fine or arrest. The church sued Newsom in August 2020, and Los Angeles County countersued to force compliance and terminated the church’s parking lot lease.15Christianity Today. John MacArthur COVID Settlement California Church Grace Community16Thomas More Society. Los Angeles County v. Grace Community Church
After a February 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision barred California from enforcing its indoor-worship ban, the county lifted its restrictions. On August 31, 2021, the parties settled. The state of California and Los Angeles County each agreed to pay $400,000, for a combined $800,000, to cover the church’s legal fees, paid to the Thomas More Society, which represented the church alongside attorney Jenna Ellis. All charges, injunctions, fines, and penalties were dropped, and the parking lot lease was reinstated.17Grace Community Church. COVID Settlement Announcement18Los Angeles Magazine. Grace Community Church Settlement
Nally v. Grace Community Church
The church was also the defendant in a landmark California Supreme Court case that still shapes clergy-counseling law. In Nally v. Grace Community Church of the Valley (1988), the parents of Kenneth Nally sued four church pastors, including MacArthur, after their son, who had a history of depression, took his own life in 1979 following spiritual counseling at the church. The parents alleged “clergyman malpractice” and negligence, arguing the pastors should have referred their suicidal son to licensed mental health professionals.19Stanford Law – Supreme Court of California. Nally v. Grace Community Church, 47 Cal.3d 278
The court ruled for the church, holding that California law does not impose a duty on nontherapist counselors, including clergy, to refer suicidal individuals to mental health professionals. It rejected clergyman malpractice as a viable cause of action, reasoning that clergy do not exercise the kind of custodial control over counselees that triggers a duty of care under existing precedent. The ruling remains a significant shield for pastoral counseling against tort liability.19Stanford Law – Supreme Court of California. Nally v. Grace Community Church, 47 Cal.3d 278
John MacArthur died on July 14, 2025, at age 86, roughly two months before the Jane Doe complaint was filed and shortly after Zielinski filed hers.20Grace Community Church. John MacArthur The three 2025 cases remain pending in California state court.