Where are you going- heaven or hell? It’s a question everyone has probably thought about at least once in their life. It’s also a question that Christian Aid Ministries (C.A.M.) has plastered on billboards all over the country. The question is accompanied by a bright sky and a raging fire to represent the elements of both afterlives. This is one of over thirty different billboard messages the non-profit has put up, with new ones constantly in rotation. Everyone has probably seen their billboards at least once, all of them recognizable by the number at the bottom of the billboard: (83) FOR-TRUTH.
Christian Aid Ministries began in 1981, distributing food to the people of Romania. According to John Martin, a phone team member who has worked there for ten years, the organization got its start by helping people and is still set to do the same to this very day. Martin shared that the group has a rapid relief team dispatched to the site of natural disasters within twenty-four hours to assist in the cleanup of the devastation. The organization is based in Berlin, Ohio, but they have gathering places and warehouses all throughout the country, including a very large one in Pennsylvania that houses a very large amount of provisions meant to be distributed to the impoverished. Their charity score is currently 81%, making them a three-star organization.
Even with all the help they give, however, the main way most people likely know them is from the billboards. Billboards that earn them roughly three hundred calls per day, Martin said, but a majority of the calls aren’t of much substance- people on the highway getting bored and calling simply just to call. Out of all three hundred, Martin said only about fifty to sixty calls per day lead to a lengthy, worthwhile conversation. And out of all those three hundred, even if plenty of callers just had a simple question or something small to talk about, Martin estimates that probably over one-third of those callers leave the call satisfied with their answers.
The Christian Aid Ministries represent a branch of Christianity called the Mennonites. They believe in baptism, non-violence, and are against the ideas of divorce and revenge. The Ministries believe that Jesus was not, as Martin put it, a “save me gospel.” Of course, everyone who believes in any religion hopes to get into their version of heaven, but according to C.A.M., that shouldn’t be the only reason you worship Jesus. Heaven is important, but not the main focus everyone should have in mind.
Despite all of the good they do, however, the Ministries are also against a few other things. Things such as abortion, gay marriage, the existence of Transgenders, and the altering of the body. This was said both by Martin and by their own website. The Ministries believe any form of LGBTQ+ is a sin and will earn the sinner a condemnation by God himself. They claim that God created man and woman to be one flesh, and that any other combination was unholy. The billboard asking whether you’re going to heaven or hell could also be seen as an example of fear-mongering, and Martin even said that this specific billboard earns them the most calls every day. However, the ministry does believe that fear is not an acceptable form of spreading religion, but warnings are not out of order. Make of that what you will.
Overall, the group may have some less-than-ideal beliefs on certain aspects of life and romance, but they are trying to do good, for the most part.
