‘Dark day’ as retired pastor is convicted for preaching John 3:16 near abortion facilities

A retired pastor has been found guilty of breaching an abortion clinic ‘secure access zone’ after he preached a sermon on John 3:16. 

Pastor Clive Johnston, 78, was found guilty by a district judge at a hearing at Coleraine Magistrates in Northern Ireland on Thursday. 

He has been convicted of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act after he held an open-air service on the fringes of the buffer zone outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine in July 2024. 

The grandfather of seven faces a criminal record and hundreds of kilos in fines, in keeping with The Christian Institute, which has been supporting his case. 

Pastor Johnston, who’s the previous President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, is now weighing up his legal options and is predicted to appeal. 

Commenting on the decision, he denied harassing anyone and called his conviction a “dark day for Christian freedom”.

“We held a small, open air Sunday service near a hospital. We made no reference in any respect to the problem of abortion. 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 primary time, convicted of against the law,” he said. 

He continued: “If someone is on the market causing trouble, stirring up violence, harassing or verbally attacking people, then, absolutely, go ahead and prosecute them. But I wasn’t doing any of those things because the police video shows and as everyone involved on this case accepts.”

John 3:16 is some of the beloved Bible verses, and states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

Speaking before Pastor Johnston’s court hearing, Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute, said that John 3:16 “is an excellent, famous verse and everybody knows it says nothing about abortion”. 

He accused the police and Public Prosecution Service of “overstepping the mark” and said that preaching the Gospel mustn’t be conflated with protesting against abortion. 

“We have amazing freedom on this country to share the Christian message. That’s why we’ve taken on this case,” he said. 

“Prosecuting Pastor Johnston for preaching ‘God so loved the world’ near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is a shocking latest try and restrict freedom of faith and freedom of speech in a component of the world where open air gospel services are a component of the culture.”