A Spiritual Battle Worth Fighting

Emily Bickford and her daughter, Ava, were on the way to church on a Wednesday evening in December 2024 when Emily, a single mom, received notice of the custody order preventing her from taking her preteen daughter to church at Calvary Chapel.

This was a devastating blow for them both, and they could not imagine the legal battle ahead. To this day, Ava is unable to attend Calvary Chapel because her father deems the church’s verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter preaching and biblical teaching — specifically on hell, demons, spiritual warfare, and salvation through Christ — to be “psychologically detrimental” to her.

In this heartbreaking case, a judge whose order demonstrated hostility toward Christianity weaponized the legal system against this Christian mom who intends to raise her daughter according to her Christian faith. In fact, in the custody order, every mention of God is spelled with a lowercase “g,” and it relies on testimony from an “expert on cults” who perceived the mainstream evangelical church to be a “cultic” organization.” Why? Because it teaches the Bible.

Cut Off from Christian Community

Under the unlawful order, Emily is prevented from taking her own daughter to the church they had attended since May 2021. Furthermore, Ava was immediately cut off from anyone “associated” with Calvary Chapel, including the friends she made during the 3 ½ years they attended the church. And she can have no contact and cannot be “exposed” to any literature, video, or anything associated with the evangelical church.

Emily is also prohibited from taking Ava to any church or religious organization or event, and Ava cannot be “exposed” to any religious literature, including the Bible, without express permission from the atheist dad (who has total veto authority of Ava’s religious involvement). Her father, Matthew Bradeen, has vetoed every church Emily has presented to him — and I cannot tell you how distressing this is for Emily and Ava. Ava has not even been able to celebrate Christmas, Easter, attend summer Christian camp, or see her Christian friends.

The judge acknowledges that Emily is a fit parent, and the order admits that there is no evidence that Ava has suffered any harm by being exposed to any teaching of the Bible. But the father still alleges that teaching the Bible verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter could expose Ava to potential harm. This is unbelievable.

Ava has just turned 13 years old and wants to go to church with her mom to be with her friends and church family and grow in her Christian faith — but this unconstitutional custody order prevents her from doing so.

Religious and Parental Rights Under Attack

Religious liberty and parental rights are clearly under attack in America today when a mother is prevented from taking her own daughter to church. This is not communist China or North Korea — this is in Maine, in a nation founded on the premise of religious freedom.

The bottom line is that Emily is unable to raise her daughter in accordance with her Christian faith because of an unlawful, overreaching custody order intended to stifle her freedom and silence her faith.

The court system intervened in the realm of private family life, trampling both religious liberty and parental rights. When a custody case interferes with fundamental freedoms, it is necessary to intervene. In November, I stood before the Maine Supreme Court, arguing the appeal of this outrageous order that has kept Ava out of church and away from Calvary Chapel since December 2024.

Legal precedent protects a parent’s right to instill their religious beliefs during their custodial time, so the court’s total prohibition on Emily’s decision-making authority is a direct infringement of this right.

A Deeper Spiritual Battle

This is evidence of a deeper spiritual battle that we face as Christians — a battle of light and darkness: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

The fight for religious liberty matters because right now, a single mother is unable to take her daughter to church, not even to worship our Risen Savior together this Easter. This is a unique case with far-reaching legal implications for religious freedom and parental rights in America.

As we await a ruling from the Maine Supreme Court, a parent’s right to raise his or her children in accordance with their religious beliefs is universal and should be undisputed, no matter what a custody order says.

This is more than just a legal fight; it’s a spiritual battle worth fighting.

(Editor’s Note: For more from Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, click HERE.)