Colorado Pastors and Church Members Reach Agreement With City To Continue Homeless Ministry in Public Park

For nearly a year, the ACLJ has stood alongside pastors and church members of three Colorado churches as they fought for their right to gather for worship, fellowship, and religious outreach in a Northglenn, Colorado, public park. Today, we are pleased to inform you that the parties have reached a settlement agreement.

We commend the city for its willingness to work collaboratively toward a solution that serves the interests of everyone involved.

As we previously explained:

Since July 2020, pastors and members from local churches, including Brent Denney and David McCamish, who are members of Brave Church, and Pastor Dustin Mackintosh from Next Step Christian Church, have led weekly ministry gatherings at E.B. Rains, Jr. Memorial Park. These weren’t rowdy events or disruptive protests. They were peaceful religious gatherings centered on worship, prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and Christian charity, including providing food to the homeless.

In June 2025, the City of Northglenn passed a city resolution that prohibited groups of five or more from using park facilities and outdoor spaces on a recurring basis.

On September 18, 2025, the city then used the new park rules to issue citations to our clients. As we reported:

Officers issued criminal citations to some of the pastors and other individuals, directing them to appear in court. When officers arrived, they didn’t just ask about group size – they specifically inquired about church membership, asking, “How many people are part of your church?” This reveals the true target: not group gatherings in general, but religious gatherings specifically.

The ACLJ then filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the city’s resolution and the city’s actions, arguing that the city violated our clients’ First Amendment rights. As we explained, we challenged the city’s resolution and the city’s actions on multiple fronts:

Vagueness and Overbreadth: CR-54 leaves ordinary citizens guessing about what conduct is prohibited. What does it mean to “monopolize” a facility? How does one “impede open access”? Even the officers who issued citations admitted they didn’t know how to apply the law. This vagueness invites arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement – exactly what we’ve witnessed.

Not Narrowly Tailored: E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park spans 28 acres with eight pavilions capable of accommodating over 400 people. The ministry’s gatherings of 20–40 people cannot reasonably be said to monopolize this vast public space. The ordinance sweeps in hundreds of harmless activities to potentially stop one: religious ministry to the homeless.

Religious Targeting: The evidence of religious discrimination is overwhelming. Officers asked ministry participants, “How many people are part of your church?” and recorded which churches they represented. If CR-54 were truly about group size, why would religious affiliation matter? Meanwhile, pickleball groups, walking clubs, refugee gatherings, and special needs daycare groups continue using the park recurrently without interference.

Viewpoint Discrimination: The selective enforcement reveals the city’s true motive: suppressing religious speech. By enforcing CR-54 only against religious gatherings while permitting secular groups to continue unimpeded, Northglenn has engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

Two months after we filed the federal lawsuit, the city ultimately dropped the criminal citations against our clients. The dismissal of the citations was certainly a critical step in this case, but the case did not end there. The city’s resolution and constitutional issues that prompted the lawsuit remained.

As the lawsuit neared the discovery phase, the parties participated in two settlement conferences to discuss potential resolutions. Those discussions ultimately developed into a collaborative effort among the parties to craft a new proposed ordinance. The parties also agreed that CR-54, the resolution at the center of the federal lawsuit, would be repealed.

Most importantly, the new ordinance will allow our clients to continue their ministry in E.B. Rains Park. More broadly, however, it reflects a cooperative effort to ensure that Northglenn’s public parks remain open, welcoming spaces where the community can gather and engage in lawful First Amendment activities.

Although the settlement agreement has been signed, dismissal of the lawsuit remains contingent upon the city council’s final approval of the proposed ordinance. Northglenn’s legislative process requires several steps before an ordinance becomes law.

First, a draft ordinance receives a first reading and is voted upon by the city council. If approved, the ordinance proceeds to a public hearing. Following that hearing, the ordinance returns to the council for a second reading and final vote. If approved on second reading, the ordinance is then published.

We are pleased to report that the proposed ordinance has already passed its first reading. The ordinance is currently scheduled for a public hearing on September 14. As explained above, the ordinance will then be read a second time and receive a final vote.

We will continue monitoring the legislative process and will provide updates as the ordinance proceeds through its final stages. Thank you for following this case, and take this moment to act with us. Sign our petition: Defeat the Left’s War Against Pastors.