Holding such events, he said, was not irresponsible. He echoed what many told us. “The numbers (of coronavirus cases) are inflated. The ways it’s affecting people are inflated.”

The previous week, along the coast in Huntington Beach, the crowd had drowned out police officers who called for them to disperse. The city had placed signs on the Pacific Coast Highway announcing the event had been cancelled.

“You can’t cancel Jesus,” Mrs Green told the defiant crowd.

They now use the hashtag #undergroundchurch and tease possible locations on social media until a few hours before their services are due to start. It adds to the sense of drama and that they are being hounded by the authorities.