by Jorge Gomez • 3 minutes
Good news for New Life Christian Center, a church in Durham, North Carolina!
First Liberty recently secured a victory that will allow the church to advertise about its programs and congregation on city buses.
Since 2007, New Life Christian Center has advertised itself on city buses to spread awareness. Their most recent ad—which the city has run for the past five years—includes the Church’s name, an image of its two pastors, its web address, and its phone number. In August, the city rejected New Life’s ad for the first time in 18 years, stating city policy did not allow them to run “religious” ads.
Our attorneys sent a letter explaining that this policy was discriminatory and unconstitutional. After receiving our letter, the city responded favorably.
“We are thankful the city reversed course and will allow New Life Christian Center to run its advertisement,” said First Liberty Senior Counsel Ryan Gardner.
“The First Amendment grants all Americans the right to express their point of view, religious or secular,” Gardner added. “Rejecting a faith-based advertising banner yet accepting other secular ads is clearly hypocritical, discriminatory and illegal.”
New Life has been serving, ministering to and impacting the lives of Durham residents for close to 40 years. Pastor Andrew and Cheryl Singletary started the church in 1988 in a local hotel with just eight people in attendance. Since then, they’ve become one of the fastest growing congregations in the region.
Through various programs, New Life reaches out to people in its community who don’t know about God, strengthens individuals and family units, and creates a space for Christians to better themselves in accordance with their faith.
Thank you for supporting First Liberty. You share a special part in victories like this one, which make a big difference in the lives of Americans. With the freedom to advertise, New Life will now be able to reach many more people in the community who want to go to church.
Your generous support is the reason why we can help houses of worship do what they do best. Every gift you make to First Liberty allows our attorneys to respond quickly—to be first in the fight whenever a church, synagogue or congregation needs help.
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December is your opportunity to deliver more landmark and historic victories in the fight for faith. Your gift this month will help First Liberty replenish our resources for hundreds of cases we’ll handle in the coming year.
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