After years of noise complaints, controversial pastor Greg Locke is planning to move his Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, to a nearby building, Locke shared in a sermon last Sunday.

The community has been complaining of noise and zoning violations for years, and Wilson County filed a lawsuit against the church.

Locke—who’s known for burning books, hunting witches, and creating viral videos about COVID-19 and election conspiracies—said Sunday that his church has a contract for a new location. He added that the church has “30 days to close” but can close sooner if it secures the necessary funds.

“We need a pile of money” to get into the building debt free and without the bank, Locke said. “But I am fully convinced God is going to give us every dime of it.”

Locke asked for donations for the move and told his congregation that he anticipated “an extraordinary day of giving both in-house and online.”

“We place ourselves in situations that if God don’t bail us out and come through, then it’s not going to get done. . . . That’s not reckless or foolish. That is what the Bible calls faith,” he added.

Locke noted that the move would end any legal battles against the church on its current property site.

The legal battle regarding Locke’s church

In 2023, the director of Wilson County Development Services filed a lawsuit against Locke and his church, alleging that there have been years of zoning disputes and noise complaints against Global Vision.

The lawsuit claims that Global Vision has failed to obtain proper building permits for construction over the years and has violated several county “Notice to Stop Work” orders.

Additionally, Global Vision has had an increasing number of local residents have filed noise complaints, according to the lawsuit.

While the church built a new tent to mitigate the sound, the noise complaints continued to come in, the suit noted.

The suit said that if the church fails to bring the property into complete compliance, then it will be required to “remove all buildings from the property.”

Locke previously told ChurchLeaders that he planned to countersue Wilson County. “We will not be bullied,” he said.

Now, Locke appears to have a changed attitude.

 “Lawsuits are going to be null and void,” he said in the sermon. “No more sound ordinance lawsuits coming against us.”

He noted that the move is a “glorious opportunity to just really start fresh for the Lord.”

The church is “rolling out” in obedience and moving from the tent property site they have met on since 2011, Locke said. He said he is excited to move to a property that has a paved parking lot and a building with numerous bathrooms.

Locke’s history of controversial actions

Locke, an avid Donald Trump supporter, first founded Global Vision Bible Church in 2006.

In the church’s early days, he backpacked hundreds of miles for Bibles, spent three nights in the freezing cold on top of a scissor lift to support a homeless ministry, and rode a bike across the country to raise funds for a church building, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported.

In 2016, he gained internet fame for posting a viral video on Facebook that protested Target’s gender-neutral bathroom policies. 

He sparked controversy two years later, when he divorced his wife of 21 years, and within four months, married his administrative assistant and ex-wife’s best friend, Tai Cowan McGee.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Locke rose to further prominence after refusing to close down his church. Locke instead held services in an outdoor tent where he criticized other congregations for closing down and called the pandemic a hoax.

He also hosted pro-Trump activists at his church during the 2020 election and promoted election conspiracy theories after Trump’s loss.

In 2022, Locke held bonfires to burn occult-related books and other “demonic” items, including Catholic rosary beads.

That same year, he went on a literal witch hunt at his church. He stated that demons had told him that women in the church were conspiring with the devil against him.

“To God be the glory, I lie not,” he said during a church service. “We got first and last names of six witches that are in our church. And you know what’s strange, three of you are in this room right now.”

Additionally, the pastor has been featured at Christian nationalist events such as America’s Revival and disgraced former Trump official Mike Flynn’s ReAwaken America tour, TRR reported.

While Locke has been banned from both Twitter and YouTube, he currently has more than 2.3 million followers on Facebook. His church’s Facebook account has more than 97,000 followers.

Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.