Signs, signs, everywhere signs

By Michael Butler

From billboards to street signs, there is a lot of signage alongside our roadways. In the Tallassee area, drivers and passengers will be recognizing a few more.

The Student Ministry at First Baptist Church of Tallassee has posted several with postitive messages throughout the town. Student Minister Brandon Fomby explained how the idea came to fruition.

Fomby

"There's a passage in Proverbs 18:21 that says, 'the tongue can bring death or life.' I read that several months ago, and it's true. We've all been victims of words that have brought death in our lives. We've probably done it ourselves to other people. We've all been the beneficiaries of words that brought life through coaching, through teachers, through parents; 'I love you,' or 'awesome job.'

We met as a ministry team. I presented the idea to them. How can we encourage and bring life into the city through words? We let the kids come up with a lot of sayings. We've narrowed it down to 14. We're going to put more out there. We'll see how it goes."

Here are some of the messages on the signs:

Your Past Doesn’t Define You!
Work Hard!
Have a Good Day!
Refuse to be Average!
God is in Control!
Jesus Saves!
Trust in Jesus!
Jesus Loves You!
God is Working!
Love You, Mean It!
Love Like Jesus!
Don’t Give Up!
Made on Purpose for a Purpose!
Be a Difference Maker!

"Slade Clayton was pumped. He's passionate," Fomby said. "He came up with 'Work Hard.' He wanted it at the middle school. A saying I like and we have it in our student center is, 'Refuse to be Average.' 'Love You, Mean It' - that's what I tell the students all the time. Chloe Baynes likes that one.

"A lot of kids struggle with who they are. Different homelives can cultivate death. We wanted to be very intentional about when you go through the everyday rhythms of your life that you see these and that's life given to me. It's a challenge. I did get approval from the principals and our mayor. It was just something simple."