Local church makes the project possible
By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
February 11, 2016
RUTHERFORDTON – Thanks to Fairview Baptist Church of Golden Valley, N.C., ‘In God We Trust’ decals will be placed on all marked patrol cars of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Chris Francis said in a statement released this week that he had been considering the display of the motto on the vehicles for several months, but funding the project was an obstacle.
That’s where David Ledford entered the picture. Ledford, the pastor of Fairview Baptist, said his church is a very conservative Southern Baptist congregation. “In addition to being God-fearing people,” Ledford said, “The people here are patriots. They love their country. They love their state. They love the county in which we live.”
Ledford said Rutherford County has its financial struggles and a high unemployment rate. A lot of people have to go outside of the county to find employment. Many are farmers. They hold to “a deeply steeped conservatism,” said Ledford. Yet the pastor contends the county’s residents are not removed from what’s happening in the rest of the country, and they’re concerned.
“We’ve been troubled as of late in hearing about what’s coming out of Washington – the Supreme Court rulings that have come down – and we are very concerned that the United States Motto, ‘In God We Trust’ is not being taken seriously,” said Ledford. “But beyond that, we see our rights eroding and even the thought behind it being taken away. We have great concern about that.”
Enter Rick Lanier of the U.S. Motto Action Committee. Lanier is a former Davidson County commissioner, who heads the organization, which seeks to place the U.S. Motto at no expense within or outside of government buildings.
In an interview back in May of last year, Lanier told the Christian Action League that the group’s goal was to place the motto on as many government buildings as possible in all of the state’s 100 counties.
Read: U.S. Motto Action Committee Having Phenomenal Success Across North Carolina
Lanier was trying to secure funding in Rutherford County to place ‘In God We Trust’ over the entrance to the county courthouse and the administrative building, when he had a conversation with Ledford and mentioned he also wanted to start placing the motto on things like patrol cars, fire trucks, etc.
Ledford told Lanier that was a project he thought his church might be willing to fund. I told him, “We might even be willing to totally fund that project, not only this year, but in perpetuity,” he said.
After speaking with Sheriff Francis about the matter, who was enthusiastically for the idea, Ledford took the proposal to his church, and it was unanimously approved by both the church deacons and the congregation.
Francis said that he was very appreciative of the church’s donation that made it possible to get the effort underway. “I wholeheartedly believe in our Nation’s motto and am proud that it will be displayed on the Rutherford County Sheriff’s vehicles,” said Francis.
Ledford told the Christian Action League that a lot of attention had been drawn to the placing of the U.S. Motto on the patrol cars in Rutherford County. He said he had heard specifically from a multi-church group in Illinois that had heard about it on social media.
“They wanted to know how they could go about making this happen in their area,” he said.
“Many people have contacted us from outside of the state, as well as other counties from within North Carolina, mostly supportive. Some people want to give us donations. Some people want to visit our church,” said Ledford. “But we want to be certain that people understand that we are not trying to draw attention to Fairview Baptist Church. We’re just trying to draw attention to the fact that people can stand up for our rights, which there is case law to support this. Our responsibility as Christians is to proclaim in every way we can what we believe – that we should trust God.”
The Christian Post reported this week, “Just last month, the city council in Lake Charles, Louisiana, voted unanimously to have ‘In God We Trust’ decals placed on 200 vehicles, including police patrol cars, fire trucks, and public works vehicles.”
City Councilman Rodney Geyen, who sponsored the measure to place the decals on city vehicles, said he believes the stickers inspire greater trust in their elected officials and law enforcement.
Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, said he thinks the positive effect is even greater than what we can see in the present.
“I agree with Pastor Ledford and his church who are rightly concerned about the rapid abandon of our nation from its Christian heritage,” said Dr. Creech. “Today’s generation, as well as the generations that follow, are reminded by such displays from whence our strength and hope come. Our bright future is not in the economy, not in our military, not in our intellect and education, as important as these may be. But our hope, salvation, power, and protection come from trusting in God.”
For more information on the US Motto Action Committee, contact Rick Lanier at 336.798.7700. To make a contribution call or email Lanier at 7thheaven@windstream.net or usmotto02@gmail.com.