A pastor is facing a court date after sharing the gospel with Muslims -- in Kansas.
About 14 people, including three senior pastors, went to the local mosque to distribute to Muslims packets containing the books of John and Romans in English and Arabic and a DVD with testimonies of former Muslims. Pastor Mark Holick of Spirit One Christian Center was one of those passing out the packets to people leaving the mosque.
Holick tells OneNewsNow that when local police officers arrived on the scene, he was handcuffed then detained in a patrol car, where he repeatedly asked what crime he had committed.
“And then about 15 minutes later, 20 minutes later, something like that, they finally came over and told me that I was being charged with ‘loitering’ and ‘failure to disperse,’” the pastor shares.
Asked if this episode occurred in Saudi Arabia, he replies, with a chuckle: “No, this was in Wichita, Kansas.”
The pastor says it was very disconcerting to see the gospel squelched -- especially on a public sidewalk in a country with a constitutional guarantee of free speech. Holick believes police are suggesting that he was blocking traffic on the driveway.
“Of course we never did do that,” he assures. “There would be no reason for us to block vehicles -- and they probably have no idea how much I like all of my organs and bones perfectly in the position they’re in right now.”
Holick says serious free-speech rights are in question, so he is asking the Alliance Defense Fund to represent him. There has been no decision on that so far.