"Church Should Go To Hell"

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - "The Church Should Go To Hell." That's the message that's turning heads outside of the Downtown Orlando Baptist Church . The marquee is not a prank.

It was placed there to let people know what the next sermon will be about but some passerby's are not taking the message lightly. After doing a double take many pedestrians said they were offended and even scared by the sign but Pastor Cary Bates says there is a purpose behind the message.

"It's to raise interest and awareness not to create any conflict," said Bates.

Bates told FOX 35 that the message about going to hell, came from a quote from William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army.

Bates says, "William Booth, said many years ago, that if I had my way I would not send any of my preachers or my workers to Bible school to make them more affective for God. I would send them to hell for 24 hours, if I could, after they return they would be the worlds greatest witnesses and workers for our Lord."

Bates says that the deeper message is that spending time in Hell would give people a deeper appreciation for life on earth and what they need to do to make it to heaven. Bates says he backed up his sermon by including scriptures from the book of Luke in the Bible which describes what hell is like.

"We just wanted to remind people that at the end of a life without Christ there is a horrible place of separation that God did not create for Christians but created for people that would refuse to accept Christ," says Bates.

Despite the deeper meaning behind the message on the marquee, some people say at first glance seeing "The Church Should Go To Hell" in front of a church is offensive however Pastor Bates hopes the sign outside, will draw more people inside to find out the true meaning of what Bates describes as a positive message about Christ.