Pastor John Gray Says His Church Won’t Be Evicted
South Carolina pastor John Gray has reacted to a Greenville News report that he and his Relentless Church are facing possible eviction over unpaid debt to its landlord, Redemption Church.
Gray was a no-show at his megachurch on Sunday, but NewsOne reports he was there in spirit, as a video “showed him from a remote location delivering a defiant message of reassurance to his congregation amid apparent uncertainty surrounding the future of Relentless Church,” the outlet writes.
Gray explained that his absence was “pre-planned before there was a setup with a camera to serve papers to our church.”
Meanwhile, in an email received by NewsOne, Gray said Relentless“have and will continue” to make payments to Redemption, despite the court filing claiming the church breached its lease agreement by failing to make “all payments to cover the costs of the sanctuary and The Imagine Center, the sports and fitness facility operated on the church campus,” GreenvilleOnline writes.
“We will address this matter through the appropriate legal channels,” the statement reads in part. “We stand behind our original statement and are confident that the payment amounts required under the leases referenced in the complaint have and will continue to be paid. Our efforts at mediation and with wise counsel to present every detail absent of legal have proven fruitless on their end multiple times.
“To the Relentless Church family please note, we have dealt honorably and have utilized every possible measure to resolve these differences to date,” the statement continues. “We will continue to serve the Lord, reach the lost, and serve the community. This unfortunate issue will not hinder the vision, work, functionality, or heart of this church. We invite the media and the public to do their own due diligence. There will be no further comment at this time as we allow our legal team to proceed accordingly.”
Redemption filed for eviction against The Relentless Church in Greenville on Thursday “over a month after Redemption terminated its lease agreement with the megachurch run by Pastor John Gray and told the church to vacate the property owned by Redemption by the end of the year.”
Gray was reportedly unsuccessfully at arranging new agreements, and Relentless Church’s month-to-month lease expired last week. This prompted Redemption Church to file for eviction.