NEWS PROVIDED BY
Butterfield & Patterson, PLLC
Dec. 3, 2025

PLANO, Texas, Dec. 3, 2025 /Christian Newswire/ — The East Plano Islamic Center brought a lawsuit against a Christian evangelism ministry and a church to stop them from preaching the Gospel and handing out religious pamphlets that EPIC deems “offensive to the Islamic faith” in the vicinity of EPIC mosque. EPIC’s lawsuit, filed in Collin County, Texas, demands that the court prohibit Testimonies of God, Inc., and Heritage Grace Community Church from engaging in speech or distributing “evangelical pamphlets, letters, fliers or other documents offensive to the Islamic faith.” Missionaries with Testimonies of God preach the Gospel on public property over 500 feet away from the EPIC mosque, and a representative of EPIC acknowledged in court testimony that the missionaries’ preaching is not audible within the mosque. Nevertheless, EPIC asked the court to push the missionaries to a location over 800 feet from the mosque. Courts have often struck down similar or smaller buffer zones as unconstitutional limits on free speech.

The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the case under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, a statute that protects against lawsuits that would hinder free speech.

Read EPIC’s Petition, the Defendants’ Answer, and the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.

“This lawsuit is an extraordinary demand by EPIC to ban missionaries from peacefully, and on public property, handing out religious flyers and preaching the Gospel or any other message that EPIC considers ‘offensive to the Islamic faith,’” said Lea Patterson, Partner at Butterfield & Patterson. “Such demands are a serious challenge to our country’s core values of free speech and freedom of religion.”

“Our goal is to lovingly proclaim the Gospel to our Muslim neighbors who do not know the True Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior,” said Landon Thurman, founder of Testimonies of God. “All we want is to lawfully exercise our right to free speech and to reach the hundreds of souls who may have never heard the true biblical Gospel.”

Testimonies of God is a Christian apologetics and evangelism ministry whose mission is to empower and encourage the members of Christ’s Body in the principles of biblical evangelism and to provide them with practical tools to proclaim the Gospel. Its activities include missions trips, public evangelism at sporting events, colleges, and other public areas, distributing Gospel tracts and Bibles, and providing evangelism training for local churches.

Although Mr. Thurman attends Heritage Grace, it has not participated in Testimonies of God’s activities.

SOURCE Butterfield & Patterson, PLLC

CONTACT: Lea Patterson, 945-284-0702, media@butterfieldpatterson.com

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