Pastor Going to Jail for 60 Days for Holding Services In His Home BY BOWATKIN IN CHRISTIAN NEWS · JUNE 11, 2013 A preacher is now in jail after he was charged with holding worship meetings in his home. The pastor is going to jail for 60 days in a case that has outraged Christians around the world. “I have spent time with my family this morning praying, crying and saying our goodbye. My heart is broken, but glory to God,” Michael Salman wrote on his Facebook page. “Our God wil take care of us and my family. Please pray for us! Until God opens the prison’s door, I will be with you all in prayer and spirit.” Salman and his wife Suzanne spoke with the Christian News Network before he reported to jail. He is going to be serving his sentence at the Maricopa County Jail. “Last time it was hard, and we know it will be hard again — being a single mom with six kids,” said Suzanne. “[But], no matter what happens, and no matter what comes, we have to stand for His word.” The pastor’s 11-year old daughter begged the mayor to help her father get out of jail. She says that he’s not a criminal and should be free to be with his family. “Mayor Stanton, please free my dad Michael Salman. I do not want to lose my dad,” she said. “Mayor, if you would have been there when he left [last time], you would have cried too. We were all so torn by what they did to him. I am so scared and to not be able to see my dad for 2 months will be very hard on me and my family. My other 5 sisters were very torn too, even the baby was crying. My mom was the most torn of all.” Salman was arrested for holding worship services on his property without having the proper commercial codes. But he says that his services are not open to the public. The couple put up a youtube video giving a tour of their property and laying out their case in detail. While the family was holding services in their living room that they would have to convert their home into a church. “…Bible studies are not allowed to be conducted in your residence. The simple and direct answer [as to why] is that the Bible study use requires a change of occupancy.” The couple then built a 2,000 square foot game room behind the house, where they held gatherings that they claim were for private recreation. But once neighbors started to suspect the family of holding worship services, they asked police to raid the property. That’s when charges were pressed against Salman, who was being punished for, among other things, not having handicapped parking at his home or handicapped bathrooms. “If enough people don’t stand up now, it’s going to be so big and so out of control that no one is going to be able to stop it,” Suzanne Salman stated. “If I go to jail, I’m ready to preach the Gospel there,” Michael Salman said. “I know that God will use him,” Suzanne added. “People will come to Christ in jail.”
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:31:29 +0000
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