GiveSendGo for Cities Church raises nearly $20K in hours

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, January 21, 2026

A GiveSendGo fundraiser is swiftly raising money to help Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, after the Southern Baptist congregation made headlines Sunday for having their worship service disrupted by a mob of left-wing protesters and former CNN host Don Lemon.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser was already approaching $20,000 of its $100,000 goal, just hours after being started by conservative influencer and podcast host Benny Johnson.

Johnson claimed the Rev. Jonathan Parnell, lead pastor of Cities Church, had "authorized this GiveSendGo personally so that Cities Church in Minnesota can defend Christians."

"100% of all proceeds go to the Church for stronger security, reinforcement of their House of Worship and legal fees to fight back against these vicious attacks," the fundraising page said.

"Help protect Cities Church and send a message that people of faith will NOT back down against the forces of darkness and evil," the page also read, paraphrasing 1 John 4:4: "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world."

"The pastor of Cities Church, Jonathan Parnell, stood strong as a Man of God and defended his flock in the face of evil. The church even reconvened later that evening and held a worship service," said the GiveSendGo, which is a faith-based crowdfunding website.

Parnell was attempting to preach Sunday morning when a group of leftist agitators stormed the church during the service and forced it to end early after screaming at churchgoers. The group, which was protesting that one of the pastors also serves as the acting director of the ICE St. Paul field office, prompted outrage when the incident went viral Sunday on social media.

The group was accompanied by Lemon, who interrogated Parnell at his pulpit about the U.S. Constitution and Jesus while the pastor calmly asked him and the others to leave the building so he could "take care of my church and my family."

NEW: Don Lemon tries lecturing a pastor on the First Amendment after a mob of far leftists stormed a church in Minneapolis.

Pastor: “This is unacceptable. It's shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship…”

Lemon: “Listen, there's a constitution, the First… pic.twitter.com/joHdCvaXe6

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 18, 2026

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the protesters for potential violations of federal law, including the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994, which prohibits "intentionally injuring, intimidating, or interfering with... [anyone] seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship."

Lemon, who has since distanced himself from the event organizers amid federal investigation, drew widespread scorn for participating in the stunt, though he has also doubled down and likened it to Civil Rights Movement protests and Jesus Christ cleansing the temple.

Alveda King, the niece of the late Martin Luther King Jr., told The Christian Post earlier this week that "Don Lemon may not remember that Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged nonviolence and, as a youth organizer in the 1960s, we were taught to be nonviolent and to protest peacefully."

President Donald Trump also weighed in on the incident Tuesday during a press briefing at the White House, calling Lemon "a loser lightweight" whose actions at the church were "terrible."

"I have such respect for that pastor," Trump said of Parnell. "He was so calm, he was so nice. He was just accosted. What they did in that church was horrible [on Sunday]."

???? President @realDonaldTrump calls out Don Lemon’s disgraceful targeting of innocent Christians at Mass in Minnesota:

“I saw him the way he walked into that church; it was terrible. I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm, he was so nice. He was just accosted. What… pic.twitter.com/wifb4uqaoo

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 20, 2026

The elders of Cities Church issued a statement Tuesday affirming that "Jesus is real" while condemning the protesters' behavior.

"On Sunday, January 18, a group of agitators jarringly disrupted our worship gathering. They accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat," the statement said in part.

"Such conduct is shameful, unlawful, and will not be tolerated. Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation."

On Wednesday afternoon, the X account of Cities Church posted Parnell's early-service sermon titled "Love One Another," which he was preaching again during a later service when the protesters interrupted.