A federal district court in Colorado has ruled that the Town of Castle Rock may not stop Church of the Rock from providing temporary housing on its property.

The church keeps an RV and a camping trailer on its property to provide up to two families “temporary shelter—together with food, clothing and other material necessities,” according to court documents.

First Liberty Institute, which represents the Church of the Rock, says the church is committed to demonstrating the Gospel and believes that their faith should be reflected in how they care for hurting, needy people in the community. First Liberty also points out that neither the town of Castle Rock nor the county where it is located has any other emergency, temporary shelter.

But in November 2021, the town’s zoning manager sent the church a Notice of Zoning Violation, saying that the shelter ministry was prohibited by the zoning code, which designates the church property as a planned development zone and specifies how the property may be used. The two sides were unable to reach an agreement, and the church filed a lawsuit to prevent the town from shutting down the shelter ministry. In the meantime, the church had to turn away at least two families seeking shelter in its RV and trailer.

In its case, the church appealed in part to a federal law called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). That act says that a municipality cannot enforce a land-use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on a religious assembly, unless the government can show it has a compelling interest to do so and is using the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.

The judge found that the church’s RLUIPA claim is valid, and he issued a temporary injunction in the church’s favor. “The church has established that it is entitled to a narrow injunction enjoining the town from interfering with its on-site temporary shelter ministry as to the two mobile homes on the church’s property,” he said.

“We are pleased with the decision of the court that allows the church to carry out its religious freedom on its property,” said Jeremy Dys, the lead attorney for the church. “The court reopened the door of a caring church whose mission has always been to offer a warm environment for the homeless living on the cold, hard streets.”

The church’s pastor, Mike Polhemus, told CBS News Colorado: “From the very beginning of this ministry, we’ve only ever wanted to obey our call to reach out, love and serve the needy around us. We are grateful the court upholds our Constitutional rights to do so.”

Photo: Courtesy of The Rock Church