He asked at Bible study if Black Lives Matter. Then, he says, Gateway Church kicked him out
Jeremiah Vance said he has spent every Sunday morning for over two years protesting outside of Gateway Church in Southlake, accusing church leaders of refusing to acknowledge the Black Lives Matter movement.
Vance, who describes himself as a “man of faith,” said he is not allowed to worship at Gateway because of his views on Black Lives Matter and that the church is not acknowledging the sins of racism.
”When I hear my neighbor crying out, my faith instructs me to treat their oppression as if it were my own oppression,” he said.
But Gateway officials said in an email that Vance’s behavior toward others in the congregation is “disruptive.” The church welcomes diversity and has many members from diverse racial backgrounds, they wrote.
Vance has also received criminal trespass warnings because of his disruptive behavior toward church members on private property, according to Gateway.
However, the church doesn’t object to his protest if he follows the law.
“As long as he is abiding by state and local laws, he has every right to protest peacefully. That does not include interrupting our church worship services,” said Lawrence Swicegood, a spokesperson for Gateway.
Southlake police spokesperson Officer Brad Uptmore said Gateway’s security issued a criminal trespass warning on March 6 in front of a police officer, but Vance has not received citations from the police.
Vance’s decision to protest
George Floyd’s death affected Vance, and he wanted answers from the church.
Floyd was killed on Memorial Day in 2020 when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes.
After Floyd’s death, Vance said, he attended a Bible study on Zoom because the church was observing COVID protocols. He asked if it was safe to say “Black Lives Matter.”
“To me, racism isn’t political; it’s moral,” he said. “I laid the groundwork. I read the word of God. I wanted to know if I can say in the community ‘Black Lives Matter’ without retaliation,” Vance said.
Vance said he received an email stating that he was no longer welcome to worship at the church.
That is when he decided to start protesting.
He sits outside the entrance wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt with a banner next to him. He reads his Bible or watches the worship service on his phone. He described worshiping outside during the 2021 winter storm, the summer heat and during thunderstorms.
Vance, who lives in north Dallas, said he also tried to attend a Messianic Jewish synagogue with ties to Gateway, but was told he was not welcome to worship there.
Pastor Robert Morris started Gateway in 2000. The church says more than 100,000 people attend services each weekend at locations in Southlake, North Richland Hills, far north Fort Worth, Frisco, Dallas, Wyoming and Arizona.
In his email, Swicegood said Gateway has a diverse membership, and three lead pastors are African-American.
“We believe what scriptures teach regarding the equality of all mankind and why we have an obligation to treat everyone with fairness and respect,” he wrote. “Our staff has gone through extensive diversity training, and we have taught that black lives have always mattered, as well as all lives, including the lives of the unborn.”
Meanwhile, Vance said he will continue his Sunday morning protests.
“To have been put outside in isolation for no good cause, that’s where I’m going to stay and use my voice here. I just wanted to know. I never heard anything said about Black lives. I just wanted to know, can I say ‘Black Lives Matter’? Apparently, I can’t.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 9:00 AM.