Pastor Convicted For Preaching On John 3:16 Outside Hospital

A judge in the United Kingdom convicted a Christian pastor on Thursday for preaching on one of the Bible’s most well-known verses outside of a hospital that performs abortions. 

Pastor Clive Johnston was fined over $600 by Judge Peter King for preaching on John 3:16 inside a so-called “Safe Access Zone” outside the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland’s “Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act” sets up buffer zones outside facilities where abortions are done, restricting protests, sidewalk counseling, or other pro-life activities. 

Johnston was prosecuted after leading an open-air Sunday service outside the Causeway Hospital on July 7, 2024, that did not mention abortion. Prosecutors accused him of attempting to influence a “protected person” or “recklessly” behaving in a way that could influence a person. 

“This is a dark day for Christian freedom,” he said after the conviction. “And yet the buffer zones law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offence. And at 78 years of age I find myself, for the first time, convicted of a crime.”

“I know it was an unusual place to hold an open-air service but that was the point: There shouldn’t be any public spaces in Northern Ireland where you can be prosecuted and convicted simply for preaching the gospel,” he added. 

Video from the day of the open-air service shows a police officer warning Johnston that he may only share the gospel in a ‘safe’ chaplaincy room inside the hospital.

“However, if you are reckless as to the effect that they could have on patients, staff, or any protected person, then you may be committing an offense,” the officer said. 

“But while you’re out here in the safe access zone, any act in that area, which may” dissuade a “protected person” from using a “service” could be an offense, the officer said. 

????NEW CLIP ????: ????UK police officer tells pastor he may ONLY share the gospel in a “safe” chaplaincy room inside the hospital, not on the street where it MAY offend someone or dissuade them from getting an abortion.

What an utterly incredible exchange ???? pic.twitter.com/SmeBIwfzNA

— Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) April 22, 2026

Johnston was supported in his legal defense by The Christian Institute, a United Kingdom-based organization devoted to “upholding the truths of the Bible.” The organization’s director, Ciarán Kelly, said they would help Johnston look at appealing the ruling. 

“Despite assurances to the contrary when this legislation was being considered, we now see that an already controversial and deeply unjust law has now been selectively applied to criminalise gospel preaching,” Kelly said. “If the ruling stands it will represent a shocking new restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech so we will be helping Clive to consider the options for appeal.”

Last month, a State Department spokesman said that the United States was monitoring the case with concern. 

“The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations,” a spokesman told The Telegraph.