Testimonials

Call Attorney John P Joseph for the most able and comprehensive ecclesiastical representation

In 2004 hurricane Charlie hit our community in Central Florida. Our church and community were devastated.

As a pastor, my primary responsibility was to find displaced congregants. They were scattered and traumatized. Their needs were many and complicated. Our church’s facilities were also devastated. This also tugged at my intention. A myriad of details that pulled me in. I had to choose. Should I seek out and minister to the Saints and to the greater community or spend my time working on our building and recovery issues?

At this point, I made the best decision I could have made. I retained the services of Rev. John P. Joseph. As a former pastor, he fully understood my challenges. As a Florida attorney, he understood the plethora of issues with which I was dealing vis-a-vis the chaos that engulfs church leaders rendering them ineffective to meet their congregation’s needs. Primarily, John dealt with our insurance company. He catalogued all of the destruction and thoroughly read our policy making it possible for us to receive the full limits of our coverage.

I am convinced that we received between 70% and 100% more that we would have had it not been for John’s gifted advocacy. His fees were a very small fraction of the funds we received with the added benefit of freeing me up to fulfill my calling to minister to the hurting. I encourage pastors and church leaders who are facing similar circumstances or other unique life altering events to call Attorney John P Joseph for the most able and comprehensive ecclesiastical representation.

Pastor PJ

A Voice of Reason at a Very Difficult Time

I have to say that hiring you to represent my interests as a church member was very helpful. It was critical to understand my rights as a member as well as issues regarding church governance . Not only that, you really helped me with context and served as a voice of reason at a very difficult time. Your counsel was invaluable and I am very happy to have found you. Thank you John.

Church Member

John has been very responsive and understanding of the various needs that the local church faces

We would like to highly recommend Attorney John Joseph and his organization for your legal needs. John has been very responsive and understanding of the various needs that the local church faces in today’s culture. His broad legal knowledge and spiritual insight is deeply appreciated by the leadership team of The Tabernacle Church.

Senior Adult Pastor, R.L.

Going Above and Beyond on our Behalf

It is with extreme gratitude that we write to tell you how impressed we are by your legal services rendered. We cannot thank you enough for going above and beyond on our behalf. We’re blown away by the respect, integrity, honesty, and faithfulness that you have possessed while handling such a sensitive case…. We couldn’t have done this without your help. We will definitely be keeping in touch for all legal needs of our Organization.

B.F.

Real Estate Transaction Testimony

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, ARAG for referring me Mr. John Joseph as my real estate transaction attorney. It turned out this was a very difficult transaction. A mistake was made back in the 1950s when the original owner subdivide the land. During the subsequent transactions, nobody spotted the problem. John discovered the problem and fought for me to make sure the issue was resolved via quiet title. John had worked meticulously to foresee any legal issues to ensure that I get a clean title and deed. It is safe to say that without him, I will not be able to see this deal go through. I owe him a big THANK YOU and I will definitely seek his legal advice in the future. I strongly recommend him.

T.S.

I recently consulted John Paul Joseph about a license agreement that needed modification. From the moment the consultation began until it was finished, John proved himself exceedingly helpful. In addition to answering my question, which was reliant on knowledge of contract law, he provided additional suggestions that I had not considered. The only regret I have is not finding John Paul Joseph earlier, as I firmly believe he could have been a major asset in past business negotiations.

W.M.

A Church Merger Testimony

I had no idea what we were getting into when I proposed the possibility of a merger of Destiny Church in Ruskin, Florida, with Faith Assembly of God in Temple Terrace near Tampa.

An interim pastor had served Faith Assembly for 18 months. Although the church could pay its bills it could not pay a full-time pastor. Our vision at Destiny Church is to be a church of regional influence and impact. We believed we could best accomplish this through revitalizing a church that was struggling. Faith Assembly of God was that church. Faith Assembly consisted of a small group of faithful people who needed leadership and a vision. The church was in the middle of a residential area mostly untouched by the churches in the area.

The board of trustees agreed that the prospect and timing were right for the merger. Everyone involved wanted to do it right. We needed legal advice. This was the best decision we could have made. When I called John Joseph and told him what we were trying to do, he laid out a plan that enabled both churches to understand the merger process. His recommendation for a transition team composed of representatives from both churches aided immeasurably in paving the way through the Plan of Merger, Articles of Merger, a new constitution and bylaws as well as informational meetings at both churches.

While some pastors may be reluctant to seek legal advice because of the cost, we did the right thing. We could not have answered the questions about the protection of our vision and the assets of the churches without his help. Because of our diligence in complying with the legal requirements we did our merger properly. No one can come later and accuse either church of failing to do the right and legal thing.

What began as an idea we shared over lunch is now a reality. Each congregation voted in favor of the merger. We have filed the documents with the state, and the church can now concentrate on its vision to reach the community. Destiny Church of Ruskin, Florida, had its first satellite church in Temple Terrace. We believe we will touch the lives of people we would have been unable to reach otherwise.

In our view, revitalizing existing churches stands alongside planting new churches in the Great Commission mandate Christ gave His church. Doing the merger with the benefit of legal counsel enabled us to pursue that mandate without questions that might later give way to distractions and prevent us from seeing the vision come to pass. The cost was worth every penny for the peace of mind.

Lead Pastor, J.L.

Church Insurance Testimony

In 2004 our church in Florida was hit by a hurricane.  The building became a total write off.  The smartest thing we did was hire Attorney John Joseph.  A pastor’s role in a natural disaster is to find and care for the sheep.  I did not have the time to deal with a reluctant insurance company nor did I have the expertise.  However, using John Joseph’s professional approach we received the limits of our coverage which far exceeded the amount we expected or could have achieved ourselves.  Moreover, the claim was paid to us in a very timely manner while other churches I knew who did not retain counsel were forced to wait in excess of a year or eighteen months.  John Joseph’s service to our church was not an expense rather it was an investment for us because of the excellent work he did on our behalf.  We could not have been more grateful for his service to us.

Senior Pastor, P.J.

Church Embezzlement Testimony

Since only 1 of the 10 lepers came back to thank Jesus, I wanted to not
fail to say thanks for your good counsel regarding the fraud I recently
discussed with you regarding another church.  My meeting with all
involved went very well.  The full Board was informed and agreed upon
the restitution approach, then met with the guilty party and her
husband.  Confronted with solid evidence, she admitted to everything and
she and her husband signed the restitution agreement.  (I had our
church’s attorney assist me in drafting this document, which left open
the possibility of future discovery and reopening of the church’s
remedies in that event).  There seemed to be a desire on the part of all
to move forward discreetly, allowing for repentance and continued
fellowship but moving wisely in terms of permanently separating this
individual from any church leadership function.  Time will tell, but I
am hopeful that this situation could turn out as well as could be hoped.

Your counsel proved invaluable.  Thank you from the leadership of the
church as well as from me!

Administrative Pastor, C.W.

Please accept my sincere appreciation for the work that you recently completed for our church merger. The quality and timeliness of work was outstanding. Which made the transition of our two churches into one to be a very smooth process. All of our questions were answered, and we were kept informed throughout the entire process.

I have complete confidence in the integrity and the work that was performed. We should definitely recommend your services to anyone having need of an attorney.

Rev. Joseph A. Rogers