Kevin Beachy, Eddie Kinsey, Andre Mulet and Kris Williams v. Mississippi District Council for Assemblies of God

Summary

The court held that ecclesiastical abstention deprived the chancery court of jurisdiction to decide whether Gulf Coast Worship Center could disaffiliate from the Assemblies of God, because disaffiliation and related governance questions are ecclesiastical matters. The court further held that the property dispute could be resolved under neutral principles of law, but conflicting evidence created a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether the District acquired a resulting trust interest. The summary judgment for the District was therefore reversed and the property issues were remanded.