James River Church Lawsuit: Verdict, Appeal, and Settlement

The main James River Church lawsuit is a Missouri personal injury case brought by Cooper Heishman, a college student who was struck by a van on church property in 2019. A Christian County jury returned a verdict of more than $19 million against the Ozark, Missouri megachurch on January 31, 2024, and the church’s appeal ended in what Heishman’s attorneys called a “favorable settlement.”¹²

What Happened to Cooper Heishman

Heishman was 19 and a student at James River Church College. He was walking back to his apartment after a Wednesday night service at the church’s Ozark campus when a van struck him. The impact threw him ten or more feet. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a fractured leg, a fractured sternum, and a collapsed lung. Court filings described the injuries as “serious, permanent and progressive.”¹³

Why the Jury Held the Church Responsible

The case turned on how the church routed its students on foot. Male students at the college were required to park in the church’s youth parking lot and walk across the road to their apartments at the Embassy Apartments. The parking directly in front of the apartments was reserved for female students. The road the male students had to cross was owned by the church. At the time of the accident it had no sidewalks and no adequate lighting.¹

The jury found that combination — the church’s own policy sending students across a church-owned road that lacked basic pedestrian infrastructure — sufficient to make the church liable for what happened to Heishman.

The Verdict, Appeal, and Settlement

The trial took place in Christian County, Missouri, before Judge Jessica Kruse, docketed as Case No. 20CT-CC00164. Attorney Aaron Woods represented Heishman. Brad Tuck and Patricia Keck of Keck & Austin in Springfield represented the church.⁴

On January 31, 2024, the jury returned its verdict for Heishman. KY3 reported the award at more than $19 million; The National Trial Lawyers reported total damages of $22.5 million.¹³

The church appealed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, under docket No. SD38518. The appeal did not produce a published ruling. Instead, Heishman’s attorneys said the matter was resolved through a “favorable settlement.”² The specific settlement figure has not been disclosed.

The Church’s Position at Trial

Tuck, representing the church, told the jury that the crash involved a driver whose window was fogged and students walking in traffic. He also noted that no similar incident had occurred on the road in the 19 years before Heishman was hit.¹ The jury was not persuaded.

Other Legal and Governance Disputes Around the Church

The Heishman case is the church’s biggest reported piece of litigation, but it is not the only legal question that has surrounded James River Church in recent years. A searcher looking into “the lawsuit” often runs into these other matters, so it is worth knowing what they are and, just as importantly, what they are not.

The 2019–2020 Bylaw Restructuring

In June 2019, lead pastor John Lindell held a congregational meeting urging members to vote to convert the church from a Chapter 352 nonprofit to a Chapter 355 nonprofit under Missouri law. He framed it as protection against “activist” judges. At the same meeting, members voted to give the board of trustees sole authority to amend the church’s constitution and bylaws.⁵

Between 2019 and 2020, filings with the Missouri Secretary of State showed the revised articles stated the church “will not have members,” dropped references to the church’s affiliation with the Assemblies of God, and eliminated provisions that had restricted the board from altering the articles unilaterally. The original articles had also required that, if the church left the Assemblies of God, property would stay with members who wanted to remain in the denomination. That provision was stripped out.⁵

Barry Bowen of the Trinity Foundation, a church accountability organization, said the changes appeared “not in compliance” with the original articles. He compared the situation to a lawsuit against Houston’s Second Baptist Church alleging similar deceptive removal of membership voting rights.⁵ No lawsuit by James River members over the restructuring has been reported.

A Member Barred, a Staffer Fired — No Suits Filed

After a 2024 controversy at the church’s Stronger Men’s Conference, two people faced direct consequences for raising concerns publicly. Rahela Petian, an 18-year member, was told she was banned from church property after posting criticism of Lindell on Facebook. On Mother’s Day 2024 she went to the North Campus anyway and was removed by three church security staff and two Greene County sheriff’s deputies. No criminal trespass charges were filed. She remained barred from the property as of late 2025, and no civil action by Petian against the church has been reported.⁵

Craig Biernbaum, a former facilities coordinator, was fired on May 4, 2024, after messaging concerns about Lindell to someone outside the church. In a meeting with David Lindell and Cameron Elmore, Biernbaum was told he needed to be a “minister according to our constitution bylaws.” He was terminated for “causing disunity” and denied severance after declining to stop what leadership called “actively causing disunity.”⁵ No wrongful termination lawsuit by Biernbaum has been reported.

Departure From the Assemblies of God

On April 23, 2025, the James River Church Board of Trustees voted to end the church’s affiliation with the Assemblies of God. Lindell called the split an “administrative change” and said the board’s vote was unanimous, though at least one board member, Don Headlee, had resigned over the decision.⁶⁵

Don Miller, superintendent of the Southern Missouri Ministry Network, said Lindell’s ministerial credentials had been dismissed as “disciplinary action” through “well-defined” guidelines. Lindell said he had resigned his credentials before the dismissal was formalized and that credential dismissal is standard when a church disaffiliates.⁷ The disaffiliation proceeded without a congregational vote, made possible by the earlier bylaw revisions that had removed the property safeguard tied to the denomination.

None of these matters became lawsuits. If you are looking for the case that produced a verdict against James River Church, that is the Heishman personal injury case, and it ended in settlement after appeal.

1
KY3. Accident Leads Landmark Verdict James River Church to Pay $19 Million Student Injured Campus
2
Sternberg Law. Cases
3
The National Trial Lawyers. Jury Orders Church in MO to Pay $22.5M
4
vLex. Cooper Heishman vs. James River Church
5
Roy’s Report. James River Church Controversy Sword Swallower Church Bylaws
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Ozarks First. James River Church Leaves Assemblies of God
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SGF Citizen. John Lindell Addresses James River Church’s Disaffiliation With Assemblies of God