NEOGA — While protesters of a gentlemen’s club shouted out Scripture on a freezing weekend night, patrons of The School House handed over their dollars to join the fun inside.
Sheryl Long of an area Christian outreach group was marching with a sign “Come to Jesus” outside the club, about four miles east of Neoga along Illinois 121.
Long and several protesters were shouting “Jesus loves you!” and “Our God is a mighty God!” as they marched along the right of way by the highway in front of the old Pioneer School, which now hosts a gentlemen’s club that includes exotic female dancers.
“We are hoping to let people know God doesn’t want them to live this way. There’s a better way to live. If they would turn their lives over to Jesus and let him have control, then things could go a whole lot better,” Long said as she and a group of Pioneers for God shouted out words of Christian love or sang Christian hymns to customers pulling into the entrances of the former grade school.
Most School House patrons seemed to ignore the protesters Friday and Saturday nights. But a few visitors did fire back with sarcasm: “God made me naked!” or “And Jesus hates you!” But some motorists did slow down and honk as they drove down the road, which protesters said they considered a sign of support.
On Friday night, a Cumberland County sheriff’s squad car answered a complaint from the gentlemen’s club owners that the protesters were allegedly marching on private property and causing a disturbance.
Two officers later reminded the protesters to stay near the roadside ditch, which is a public right of way, and reminded them not to obstruct traffic into the business.
The protesters, numbering 10 to 12 and working in shifts to deal with the cold, assured the officers they had complied with those guidelines.
On Saturday night, one of the owners said business could not be better, and the protesters were not having a negative impact on the influx of customers that included men and women. That was evident with a full parking lot in the rear of the building.
Some customers came in pickup trucks, while some were driven in a limousine that seemed to be making a circuit of the area.
Owners of The School House are Travis Funneman of Effingham and Bob Kearney of Mattoon, both of whom have declined to go on record with the newspaper under the advice of their attorney.
Some patrons have confirmed the club requires a cover charge and that several female dancers perform each night.
Cumberland County officials are looking at legal options for shutting down the business.
But the protesters during the weekend gathered to use prayer as a way to counter what some said is “degrading” the community.
Read the original article from Herald & Review.