Gracehaven, a Christian ministry serving girls rescued from sex trafficking, will remain in Montgomery County’s foster care system after officials blocked its contract over faith-based hiring – a move a federal judge said likely violated the First Amendment.
Montgomery County, Ohio, has agreed to pay more than $120,000 in attorneys’ fees to Gracehaven after it illegally excluded a Christian ministry from its foster care system over its policy of only hiring employees who share its religious beliefs.
Under the settlement agreement, Montgomery County agreed to pay $120,460 in attorneys’ fees and costs, according to Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Gracehaven.
The dispute stemmed from Montgomery County’s decision not to renew Gracehaven’s contract in 2024 to provide foster care services. Gracehaven, which specializes in caring for girls who have survived sex trafficking and abuse, argued that the county violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by excluding the ministry because it hires only employees who share and live out its Christian beliefs.
The ministry sued the Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners, along with the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services and its leadership.
In April 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted Gracehaven a preliminary injunction, barring Montgomery County from refusing to contract with the ministry or withholding Title IV-E funds because Gracehaven employs only coreligionists.
In his ruling, Newman cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Carson v. Makin, writing that the precedent protects Americans against “indirect coercion or penalties on the free exercise of religion, not just outright prohibitions” and bars the exclusion of “religious observers from otherwise available public benefits.”
Under the settlement, both parties agreed to extend the terms of the preliminary injunction. The agreement includes a county contract running through Dec. 31, 2025, along with a renewal extending services through Dec. 31, 2027. The agreement was approved last month, and the lawsuit has since been dismissed.
As ADF Legal Counsel Jake Reed explained in a statement,
“The government can’t deny public benefits to a Christian ministry that is caring for young survivors of sex trafficking solely because of its religious character and exercise. Gracehaven is a force for good, offering comprehensive care, support, and a safe place to call home to the most vulnerable girls in Ohio.”
Gracehaven Director Scott Arnold said he welcomes the settlement as it allows the ministry to carry on its work without the distraction of a legal fight. “Gracehaven empowers young girls rescued from sex trafficking by helping them thrive with dignity in a renewed life,” he stated. “Our team of Christian employees is paramount to this work. As we help these girls work through their pain and trauma and move toward living healthy, fulfilling lives, our ability to hire like-minded people of faith to carry out our mission is essential.”
This news is just the latest in an ongoing series of settlements, thanks to numerous Supreme Court decisions over the last several years reaffirming the Free Exercise Clause and the constitutional reality that Christians have the same rights as secular organizations to operate in the public square.
For example, in 2021, Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church won an $800,000 settlement from California and Los Angeles County after the Supreme Court ruled repeatedly that the states had discriminated against churches and Christians when it forced them to close their doors and adhere to more stringent COVID lockdown requirements than casinos, strip clubs, liquor stores, Hollywood production studios, and other “essential” secular organizations.
In 2023, Steve Tennes, the owner of Country Mills Farm, received an $825,000 settlement from East Lansing after a court found that a city-owned farmer’s market had unconstitutionally banned him from participation because of social media posts detailing his biblical beliefs on marriage and sexuality.
And several states, including Massachusetts and Vermont, that banned Christians from serving as foster families were forced to settle after Jessica Bates, a Christian mom in Oregon, won her legal fight at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after being blocked from adopting a child because she refused to sign a statement embracing LGBTQ ideology in violation of her biblical beliefs.
The First Amendment was never meant to confine faith within the private walls of a church. It guarantees that Americans can live out their beliefs openly and boldly in every part of life, including the workplace.
At a time when the Trump administration is making religious liberty a renewed national priority, Gracehaven’s victory shows why that work matters: America does not need fewer Christian ministries serving the vulnerable – it needs government officials humble enough to let them serve without demanding they abandon their faith.
And faith-based organizations are not just secular charities with a religious label. Their Christian convictions are the heartbeat of their mission and service. For Gracehaven, which helps young girls heal from the horrors of sex trafficking, faith in Christ is the foundation of every act of compassion. The ability to hire staff who share these beliefs is essential to carrying out this God-honoring work.
The Gracehaven case is significant because it once again exposes how hostile government officials have become towards Bible-believing Christians and their mission — even in conservative red states. But this case also serves as yet another confirmation that the First Amendment remains in full force and governments that violate it will eventually lose in court and be forced to pay a price.
Unfortunately, the only ones who actually pay that price are taxpayers. City or state officials are rarely, if ever, fired or fined for their ignorant or willful disregard for the religious liberty rights of their constituents, and as such, many governments mail the settlement check and then continue their anti-Christian discrimination without shame.
States like Vermont, California, and Maine, for example, have continued to defy the Supreme Court’s precedents on treating Christians equally, forcing individuals and organizations to tie up their finances, time, and energy in new court fights. Until government officials are held to account for violating the Constitution they have sworn to uphold, nothing will change.
As such, despite so many court wins and settlements in recent years, Christians cannot be naïve or become complacent. America is in the middle of a spiritual battle, and Christians will continue to face hostility and discrimination.
How should Christians respond to this reality? Be willing to stand up for your rights against illegal government discrimination, seek strong legal counsel, refuse to compromise your Christian identity, be patient and persistent in the fight, pray for justice, and remain laser focused on the mission God has ordained.
In other words, Christians should follow the blueprint Gracehaven just demonstrated: serve faithfully, refuse to surrender conviction, fight lawfully, pray persistently, and trust that the First Amendment still has teeth when believers have the courage to use it.
When government punishes Christians for staying Christian, silence becomes surrender. Your tax-deductible gift helps the Standing for Freedom Center expose anti-Christian discrimination, defend religious liberty, and equip believers to serve boldly without bowing to the state.
