ACLJ Secures Major Victory In LA For Church On The Beach

Earlier this year, the ACLJ was contacted by Church on the Beach. For 18 years, this ministry has conducted peaceful worship services on Redondo Beach, providing a spiritual community for beachgoers and local residents alike.
In late 2024, Los Angeles County implemented a troubling policy that specifically targeted religious activities, limiting religious groups to only six permits per year while imposing no such restrictions on other community gatherings. This blatant religious discrimination threatened the ongoing ministry of Church on the Beach.
In a response letter dated March 30, 2025 – just 24 days after our intervention – the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors capitulated: “DBH acknowledges that its Beach and Harbor Use Licensing Policy and other policies pertaining to access to beach use, on its face and in application, must be content neutral and applied in the same manner regardless of the religious or non-religious nature of the activity.”
Most importantly, the County has pledged to “immediately withdraw the temporary policy to limit permits for religious activities” and will now process all permit applications under the same standards – exactly what the Constitution requires. This is not just a victory on paper. This means that Church on the Beach can continue its ministry without facing arbitrary caps on its gatherings that secular groups don’t face. This means believers can worship freely on public beaches without government interference.