What started as an idea between friends at a small church in rural Montgomery County has turned into a viral movement uplifting thousands across the United States.
Fox News reported that Joyce Hubbard and Martha Sikes, members of Sampey Memorial Baptist Church in Ramer, launched the “Jesus 2020” campaign, which is now putting up yard signs around the nation.
The network said that the campaign was sparked by the two friends wanting to give people hope amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the general negative atmosphere that the country currently faces. And, instead of turning to political parties or politicians, the women believe that this is the only campaign guaranteed success.
“People need Jesus with everything that’s going on,” Hubbard explained. “He’s the only one that we can count on. He’s the one that keeps his promises. He’s already the winner.”
The movement quickly caught fire through the campaign’s Facebook page, where people can order signs.
With a stated goal of putting “a sign in every yard across America,” more than 5,000 have reportedly shipped out already, including to states such as California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
The campaign’s message is powerful, Hubbard outlined, and the reception to that message so far has been encouraging.
“If everyone would just focus on Jesus right now, everything would just fall into place and we wouldn’t have the problems we have,” she commented. “He’s the only way.”
In addition to the campaign starting in the Yellowhammer State and being run by local residents, the signs are also being printed at an Alabama business — Wells Printing in Montgomery.
“We don’t have to be some megachurch. All it takes is a spark and we want to set fires everywhere,” Hubbard added. “We want Jesus’s name out there.”
This is a true grassroots movement, with word-of-mouth largely driving orders to date. Hubbard advised that entire neighborhoods have ordered signs after seeing them in a yard. “[O]nce one person gets them, everyone wants one,” she remarked.
Overall, the response to the campaign has been “awesome,” Hubbard reflected.
“It’s uplifted people so much,” she concluded. “People are just looking for something to cling onto. Not the signs itself, but just Jesus. I mean that’s what we need.”
Signs can be ordered here.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.