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Grace Church did not violate the federal tax code in 2022 by promoting two of its members running for local school boards, according to an April letter from the IRS.

On the civic engagement page of its website, the church posted a flyer stating, “Don’t sit on the sidelines! Help support Grace candidates� listed as Linda Henning for Ritenour School Board and Jeff Mintzlaff for Kirkwood School Board. Both candidates lost their races in April 2022.

The IRS bans churches and other tax-exempt nonprofits from participating in political campaigns “including the publishing or distributing of statements ... on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.�

Marty Haas, the church’s Biblical counseling pastor, said Grace leaders feel “vindicated� after being reported to the IRS following a Post-Dispatch article about the school board elections.

“We are required by the Bible to protect the innocent and protect those in need,� Haas said. “We have people getting onto the school boards to use the schools to indoctrinate children into mindsets that are in the child’s worst interest, things that the parents are opposed to.�

In 2022, Grace’s site listed descriptions of candidates in 14 school board races across St. Louis and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ counties under the banner “Help Take Back Our Schools!â€�

The descriptions labeled candidates’ views with “supports equity in schools and Planned Parenthood,� or “aims to be a common sense, pragmatic and conservative voice in education� and “rejects CRT (critical race theory), pornographic materials & mandates.�

Several school board candidates told the Post-Dispatch that they were not contacted by the church and felt misrepresented by the descriptions of their campaign platforms on the website. Others thanked the church for accurately conveying their beliefs, Grace leaders said.

Grace’s lawyers with the Texas-based First Liberty Institute argued that the church was entitled under the First Amendment to communicate “religiously-motivated statements made to fellow worshippers regarding how to engage in the public sphere consistent with their faith.�

“Any inquiry by the IRS, or any other government official, into what a church teaches to its congregation — or what the government believes church leadership or ministries should or should not have said to a church community — is necessarily suspect, and presumptively unconstitutional,� reads an August 2024 letter to the agency from attorneys with First Liberty and Jones Day in Washington.

The president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said groups like First Liberty are empowered to push toward Christian nationalism under President Trump.

“The American people have repeatedly made clear they do not want houses of worship and charitable organizations corrupted by corrosive partisan politics,� said Rachel Laser.

While information on school board candidates has not been available on the Grace website in recent years, church leaders said they have not changed their political messaging.

“The point is to make sure that our church and our community is actually aware of these things,� said Clarissa Richee, Grace’s director of civic engagement. “We want people to be aware of what is going on, who they’re voting for. We just want to make it easier for people to make an informed decision.�

Grace Church’s posts in opposition to Amendment 3, which enshrined abortion rights in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Constitution. There are calls for prayer for state legislators in the conservative Freedom Caucus and for bills regarding gender, abortion and parental rights issues.

It also adds a disclaimer: “This article is for informational purposes only. Grace Church does not endorse any candidates or legislation.�