Gateway Church Wins Dismissal in Tithe Misuse Lawsuit

Federal judge rules First Amendment shields church's internal funding decisions.

A federal district judge in Texas has dismissed a lawsuit against Gateway Church over its use of tithe funds.

Gateway Church / Insert of former pastor Robert Morris

Katherine and Gary Leach and Mark and Terri Browder, congregants of Gateway Church, filed the lawsuit in October 2024. They alleged that Gateway Church falsely represented that it gave 15% of all donations to global missions and Jewish ministry partners. They also claimed Gateway “guaranteed plaintiffs a refund of their donated funds if plaintiffs were dissatisfied with Gateway’s use of such funds.”

In its motion to dismiss, the church and its founder, Pastor Robert Morris, argued that the plaintiffs’ claims about the church’s use of tithe funds would “intrude upon Gateway’s religious freedom and autonomy as a church and are therefore barred by the First Amendment’s ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.”

The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine dates to 1871. It is a court-created doctrine rooted in the First Amendment’s Free Exercise of Religion clause. Under the doctrine, courts decline to exercise jurisdiction in cases that involve deciding matters of religious doctrine.

Judge Amos Mazzant had previously denied the church’s motion to dismiss in 2025, but he reexamined the motion in light of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

In McRaney v. North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the 5th Circuit stated that “the courts of this country are infused with a history of religious tolerance and are guided more specifically by the First Amendment to interfere as little as possible in the affairs that constitute governance of ecclesiastical bodies.”

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Gateway argued that the McRaney decision broadened the scope of the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine to include claims — like those made by the plaintiff — about internal church affairs, such as funding decisions.

The plaintiffs countered that their allegations were not about the misuse of funds but about misrepresentations the church made when soliciting donations. They also argued that Gateway entered into a contract with them regarding how it would use tithe funds and that it violated that contract.

Mazzant found that the plaintiffs’ claims about the use of church tithe funds would require the court to “adjudicate ecclesiastical matters.” He said it would require the court to determine the definition of such terms as “global missions,” “Jewish ministry partners” and other terms that “implicate religious beliefs.”

“[W]hile both parties acknowledge Plaintiffs’ claims are grounded in traditional civil law, resolving the claims would require the court to examine the management of Gateway’s donated funds, which will ‘necessarily implicate questions of faith, scripture, and religious doctrine,’” Mazzant wrote.

Gateway attorney Ron Breaux welcomed the ruling.

“We are grateful that the United States District Court has dismissed all claims against Gateway,” Breaux said. ”Plaintiffs sought to second-guess Gateway’s beliefs and decisions on the fundamental religious question of tithing. The First Amendment prohibits such an assault on Gateway’s religious autonomy and freedom.”

Breaux added: “The District Court rightly recognized that resolving the plaintiffs’ claims would require the court to conduct an inquiry into matters that are essential to Gateway’s central mission, and it properly dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims.”

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