DALLAS — On Texas Street in Cedar Hill, a new church has moved in. While there are no signs identifying the church yet, word spread quickly that the building belongs to Stedfast Baptist Church.
It's an organization strongly against the LGBTQ+ community. In a recent Facebook post made by the church, Pastor Jonathan Shelley spoke on the video, "Actually, government is supposed to go out and terrorize evil, not the good [...] These people should be punished with the death penalty." The caption read, "The Government Should Be Punishing Homosexuals".
Protestors are frustrated that Stedfast has found a new place to preach. Lynette Sharp with No Hate in Texas said, “It’s a cult. It’s a really dangerous cult, and I feel really bad for Cedar Hill.”
Sharp joined No Hate in Texas when Stedfast moved from Hurst to Watauga, where she lives. She said Stedfast was evicted out of both of those locations last year, and they started holding sermons at hotels until they were forced out of those locations too.
In June 2022, Stedfast Baptist Church faced more protests after a pastor openly encouraged violence against the LGBTQ+ community.
In an online sermon, Pastor Dillon Awes said, “every single homosexual in our country should be charged with a crime, the abomination of homosexuality that they have. They should be convicted in a lawful trial. They should be sentenced to death. They should be lined up against a wall and shot in the back of the head.”
Sharp said that kind of language is dangerous. She is concerned about the new Cedar Hill property.
“They’ve bought that building so now we can’t protest and get them kicked out because they own it," Sharp said.
Sharp is warning people in Cedar Hill about their new neighbors. She said they need to protest and stop newcomers from entering Stedfast. “Show up and let anyone going into that building unaware, be aware that they are entering not a church, but a cult, a hate group.”
WFAA reached out to Stedfast Baptist Church, and did not hear back at the time of this publication.