ATHENS, Ala. (ABP) — If you want to find Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Athens, head past Jimmy's Lounge and turn right.
Jimmy's is a topless dance club in Madison, Ala. Everyone who works at, frequents or merely drives by Jimmy's knows exactly where Lindsay Lane is. If they ever forget, they need only look up.
If you follow the directions on the billboard over Jimmy's Lounge to Lindsay Lane Baptist in nearby Athens, you'll find a sprawling, modern church campus with plenty of parking and members who pride themselves on being “A Church with a Vision.”
Recently that vision included advertising on a much larger scale — 10 feet by 30 feet, to be exact. Finding an earlier experiment with billboards effective, Lindsay Lane Senior Pastor Dusty McLemore and Minister of Education Sonny Schofield decided to try again.
“Brother Dusty thought we needed one in Madison,” Schofield told the Alabama Baptist. “We were praying for God to give us a billboard in Madison.”
The church didn't ask for the location over the topless bar — although it plans to keep it now. And neither Schofield nor McLemore has a personal vendetta against adult entertainment — beyond ordinary Christian indignation.
“That just happened to be one that was available,” Schofield explained. The opportunity, however, for a savvy evangelical approach soon became apparent. The billboard says, “Happy hour. Every Sunday 9:30 a.m. One you will remember!”
When residents approved alcohol sales in Athens late last year, restaurants along Highway 72 wasted no time reintroducing “happy hour” into the local vernacular. “We thought, 'We could do something with that,'” Schofield said.
The first billboard advertised Lindsay Lane Sunday services as a “happy hour” visitors would remember. “We weren't always saved,” Schofield said. “We used to have a 'good time.' And since it was something we could relate to in our past, we thought others might be able to as well.”
The billboard also featured a 10-foot tall graphic of Jesus carrying the cross. “We want them to see [that]. Thousands of people pass there and see Jesus carrying that cross,” Schofield said.
It's also the last thing Jimmy's patrons see before entering, and McLemore and company like it that way. Lindsay Lane Baptist has had the sign space since November 2004. The church has a one-year lease with an indefinite option to renew. They plan to switch the phrasing every six-to-eight months. The latest version is designed to reference 1 Corinthians 4:10 — “Fools for Christ! Who's fool are you?”
Jimmy Robinson, owner of Jimmy's Lounge, was unavailable for comment.