United Methodist Church buys billboard space that hosted Proud Boys sign
[August 23, 2025]
By Molly Parker
BREESE, Ill. — In response to the uproar over a Proud Boys message
displayed on a billboard near Central Community High School, the United
Methodist Church has a simple message: “Hate Divides, Love Unites.”
The church purchased billboard space in the same location as the Proud
Boys sign, which was removed this week. It paid $2,100 for the next four
months.
“It’s part of our ministry,” said Paul Black, director of communication
ministries for the Springfield-based Illinois Great Rivers Conference,
which represents 650 United Methodist congregations and about 100,000
members across central and southern Illinois. “One of the focuses for
the denomination is eradicating racism, and when you read about this
group, there’s no doubt there’s cause for concern.”
The Proud Boys sign, which went up late last week and came down Tuesday,
stood along Old U.S. Route 50 and St. Rose Road, about 1,000 feet from
the school’s entrance. It appeared to be a recruiting tool for the
group, listing a local phone number that went to a full voicemail and
featuring its logo alongside the slogan: “Faith, Family, Freedom,
Brotherhood.”
The Proud Boys have been designated a hate or extremist group by
organizations including the Southern Poverty Law Center and were tied to
the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Lamar Advertising, which manages the billboard’s ad space, declined to
say who purchased the Proud Boys message. The company removed it after a
Clinton County Board meeting Monday night where dozens of residents
spoke against the sign, and the board unanimously passed a non-binding
resolution denouncing hate.
Bucky Miller, of Aviston, who helped organize community turnout for the
board meeting, said he was relieved to hear about the Methodist sign. He
and his wife, Laura Thoman, are raising two children, ages 6 and 4, and
they were particularly disturbed by the sign’s placement near a school.
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A picture of how the billboard will look, as seen on a similar sign
in Salem, Missouri. (Provided by United Methodist Church)
The new message, he said, “embodies what our community and Clinton
County as a whole is all about.”
Black said the design for the new billboard comes from a campaign first
launched by the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. The
campaign began after a private citizen erected a similar sign near a
Confederate flag flying along a busy road at the Lake of the Ozarks. The
church eventually took over funding for that billboard and has since
expanded the effort, putting up signs in several locations throughout
the state.
Kim Jenne, director of connectional ministries for the Missouri
Conference, said other Methodist conferences across the country,
including in Ohio and North Carolina, have also adopted the “Hate
Divides, Love Unites” message in places where local communities have
reported extremist activity, though she was not aware of any other Proud
Boys billboards.
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