Parishioner uses marquee as sign of his Christian faith

If John Lingenfelser doesn’t like the headlines he sees in the news, he crafts his own and puts them on a 4-by-6-foot roadside marquee on Lawrence’s main drag.

Lingenfelser is the man behind the eye-catching, Christian-themed messages that appear fresh each week on both sides of the sign outside Victory Bible Church, 1942 Mass. The signs range from snappy slogans — such as an Easter-time sign that read “TOMB FOR SALE; SLIGHTLY USED” — to commentaries on current events, including the slaying of congregation member Mary Miller this summer.

“I am the only person in town that gets to stand on the pulpit 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Lingenfelser said. “They can’t tell me to sit down. They can’t boo me. That is my message. That is my pulpit, and I’m very humbled and honored to be able to do that.”

The 46-year-old Lingenfelser, who delivers office products at Kansas University and has a delivery route for a Kansas City newspaper, said he got some of his ideas during conversations with friends or from his daily life.

But he said the main source of ideas was the Lord.

“I consider it his sign; he just lets me move the letters,” Lingenfelser said.

Leo Barbee, pastor of Victory Bible, said he had given Lingenfelser free rein to compose the messages and has never had to suggest a change.

“They’re something different. I think the idea is to try to attract people, to show that all are welcome,” Barbee said.

Lingenfelser has been updating the messages weekly for about a year and has been a Victory Bible congregation member for about five years.

Victory Bible Church member John Lingenfelser slides a Plexiglas shield over the church's marquee to protect it from theft and vandals. Lingenfelser updates the marquee with new phrases weekly.

Some of his recent headlines include “SIN KILLS,” a takeoff on the phrase “Speed kills,” and, shortly after congregation member Miller’s death in late July, “EVERY BODY DIES; MARY MILLER LIVED FOR JESUS.”

When Lingenfelser grew tired of seeing news every day about the murder charge filed against Miller’s husband, Martin K. “Marty” Miller, he put up this sign: “COME HEAR SOME GOOD NEWS.”

“I was kind of playing on the Good News of the Bible,” he said.

Last week he was considering a new message: “BAD NEWS SELLS; GOOD NEWS SAVES.”

“I don’t want to bring any controversy down on the church,” he said. “At the same time, we have a message to get out. That’s our whole life, is to try to draw people into the kingdom.”