This weekend Gainesville will be visited by protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. This group is known for their protests of military funerals, contempt for homosexuals and other groups.
As a Southern Baptist church serving this community for over 50 years, Westside Baptist Church of Gainesville wishes to officially distance itself from this group and their message.
Westside holds to the value of love as defined by the Bible — our authority for truth and practice. It is this love that causes us to embrace the life of Christ and encourage others to do the same.
No person coming into contact with Westside is subjected to a message of hate. Rather, our mission is to share the good news of love and redemption found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This remains our mission regardless of a person’s race, occupation, gender, faith, national origin, sexual orientation or any other discriminating factor.
As the events of this weekend unfold, the Gainesville community should know that Westside has no part in and is strictly opposed to this group’s actions and message. While they hide behind their “Baptist” label, this group in no way represents our church or the Baptist denomination at large.
