Church at Seattle v. Hendrix

Hill, J. —

Two groups have been striving for the control of a small nondenominational church and its property since the death of its founder and first pastor. No good purpose would be served by detailing their differences, and we shall refer to the groups simply as appellants and respondents.

There is no dispute as to the applicable law. It is conceded that the general rule of law applicable to a church, congregational and nondenominational in its organization, is that the majority controls the policies and its *303property. Elston v. Wilborn, 208 Ark. 377, 186 S.W.2d 662, 158 A.L.R. 179 (1945).

The…