Finding Jesus in Rural South Carolina

Over Labor Day weekend, I visited my college roommate and her husband at their coastal home in South Carolina. Lifelong friends of 60 years.

For me, driving two hours on I-20 is a sleeping-pill-monotonous-same-same-same scenery; I prefer backroads full of local color. Then I drove four hours through rural country heading east toward the coast.

Whoa, did I get COLOR as soon as I entered our neighboring state!

A side note: I love Georgia, but my second fave is South Carolina, for a multitude of reasons.

Oh, and gas was 50¢ per gallon cheaper that day.

The topography was different from Georgia, with palmetto trees, live oaks, Spanish moss and Piggly Wiggly stores. Very flat landscape of field after field with crops of cotton, corn, soybeans and sunflowers—all covered in butterflies.

With my eyelids drooping, I needed something to keep me alert, and I saw it immediately!

A giant billboard in yellow with huge red block letters:

SEX, SINNERS AND LIARS GOING TO HELL

Whoa. Got my attention!

Under it was a second sign (same design):

REPENT NOW

Then every couple hundred yards, a new one:

SAVE ME JESUS

or

JESUS IS COMING SOON

or

HEAVEN OR HELL / YOU CHOOSE

There were so many of these threatening messages on both sides of the two-lane roads—even on I-95!

I was trying to drive and write them down at the same time (not a good idea).

(Save me, Jesus, from a wreck?)

Basically, that same message over and over. Could I say that “it put the fear of God” in me?

Do you suppose that other “sinners” knew those messages were for them? Or were the signs ignored?

FORGIVE MY SINS / SAVE MY SOUL

JESUS IS ALIVE

YES JESUS LOVES YOU

BLOOD OF JESUS

FOLLOW JESUS

…do you get the message?

All of these signs were bright yellow with vivid red letters, easy to spot and sure to catch your eye.

If that were not enough, then I started seeing small churches—one-story, simple, usually constructed from cinder blocks, although a few were brick. The names of these churches, chapels and temples proclaimed their devotion.

These are only a few of the names:

Upon This Rock, Because He Lives Christian Ministries, Live Assembly of True Believers, The Lighthouse of Christian Fellowship, Crossroads Ministry, Christian Fortress, Shekinah Temple, New Light, Assembly of Free Will, Bible Believing, The Upper Room, Perfecting Zion, World Faith Center, Holiness House of God, Restoration Chapel, etc.

In the small towns, the buildings were a bit larger. Most of these churches were Baptist, secondly Methodist, with one Presbyterian and one Jehovah's Witness.

Some had simple names: Beaver Creek Baptist or Shady Grove Methodist.

(Seemed almost boring!)

Altogether, I'll bet I saw at least 100 of these small country churches.

On my re-entry into Georgia, there was ONE lone gray billboard with white letters:

“Have you lost your faith in God?”1-800-…

I thought…all you have to do is make a U-turn and go back into South Carolina!

It was the Buckle of the Bible Belt!

© Carol Veliotis