In July 2009, Dove World Outreach Center erected a sign in front of our church in Gainesville, Florida. The sign attracted national attention, sparked protests, and started a conversation that has continued for years. This page is our honest reflection on that sign, what it meant, and what we have learned.
Signs are one of the oldest forms of public communication. Churches have used them for generations — to welcome the community, to share a scripture, to announce a service, or to make a public statement of faith. A sign is a declaration of what you believe and who you are.
That is precisely why the words we put on our signs carry enormous weight. They represent not just the individuals who put them up, but the God we claim to serve. And God, as the Scriptures remind us, is love.
"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."
— Colossians 4:6
When our sign went up in 2009, approximately 125 people gathered for a prayer vigil in response. Rather than seeing that as opposition, we have come to see it as evidence that our community cares deeply — about respect, about neighborliness, about the way we treat one another across lines of faith and culture.
Gainesville is a diverse city. It is home to thousands of Muslim residents, to students from dozens of countries, to people of every background. The response to our sign reminded us that our words have real consequences for real people who are our neighbors.
We believe the church is called to speak boldly. We believe there are times when silence is cowardice. We believe that truth matters and that not everything that calls itself a religion deserves uncritical endorsement.
But we also believe — and this is something we have wrestled with — that the manner of our speech is inseparable from the message. Jesus did not shout condemnation at the woman at the well. He spoke truth to her with such love that she ran back to her village and told everyone to come and meet him. That is the model.
"Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."
— Ephesians 4:15
The question we keep returning to is this: does our public witness — our signs, our protests, our words — draw people toward the love of Christ, or does it push them away? Does it open doors, or close them?
We are a church that is still learning. We have made choices over the years that we would make differently today. We believe that honest reflection — including reflection on our own past — is part of what it means to walk faithfully with God.
We also believe that the most powerful sign we can put in front of our church — or in front of the world — is not a slogan. It is a life transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. It is a community that welcomes the stranger, that loves the neighbor, that extends the hand of friendship across every divide.
That is the sign we want to be known for.
We invite you to come and talk with us — about faith, about Islam, about the Gospel, about anything on your heart. Our door is open.
Contact Us About Our Church