By Mary Faulds, AFA Journal staff writer

August 2009 – In the Old Testament, the Israelites battled many nations on their way to the Promised Land. During one particular battle against the Amalekites, Moses stood with his arms raised. Undoubtedly, Moses grew tired from raising his arms. It was then that his brother Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms for him until the battle was won.

But that was just one day. What if it had been longer? Who would have the perseverance to stand strong against the enemy? A group of Christians in Uniontown, Indiana, are just such a people. They have been protesting a smut shop in their town 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for nearly 4 years.

In January 2005, Katie Coleman, a 10-year-old girl from the area was abducted, raped and murdered. Her assailant, Anthony Stocklemen, was eventually apprehended, tried and sentenced to life without parole. The horrible event made national news at the time.

This crime traumatized the people in the area. At the time this was happening, The Lion’s Den was secretly building a new sex business in Uniontown. The owner of the property lied to local government and to residents stating the property would be a truck stop or grocery store.

In July 2005, Christians in Uniontown contacted Rob Patterson, a Louisville, Kentucky, man who has had much success protesting and closing porn stores. Patterson said when he traveled to Uniontown he expected about 10 people to show up. However, because of the fresh wounds from the Coleman murder, over 150 people were there eager to stop the Lion’s Den.

After coordinating their resources, on July 30, 2005, they began sitting in protest outside the nearly complete building site. 

Protesters stay out front of the Lion’s Den at all times. They take pictures of the customers and post them on their Web site www.war-line.org. In spite of being physically attacked, mocked, and even hit by cars, Patterson said no one has incurred an injury, not even a scratch.

The nine acre site was designed to cater to truckers. The business model estimated over 200 trucks per night according to owner Ronald Stone of Columbus, Ohio. When the drivers see the protesters, cameras in hand, an estimated 90% of the potential customers will not risk the exposure and turn away. 

The result is, instead of 200 trucks per night, only an average of 12 trucks per week stop. The lot purchased to accommodate the large number of trucks is overgrown with grass since the Lion’s Den could never afford to develop it.

One thing that has surprised Patterson and the other protesters is the lack of local church support. He estimated there were about 150 churches in the area, but those that even nominally help number around 10. He said some churches said they are satisfied with simply trying to pray the Lion’s Den out of business. 

In March 2009, the protesters ran into a problem, so they contacted AFA of Indiana (AFAIN) executive director Micah Clark. “They are kind of viewed as a nuisance to certain people in the community who really ought to be standing behind them,” said Clark. “The city council was one of those entities, and the council was actually starting to consider an ordinance to silence the protesters because they were tired of seeing them out there.”

Clark met with the protesters and had an attorney on AFAIN’s board send a letter to the city council advising them of the protesters’ free speech rights. The council immediately backed away.

Patterson said God has given them a special mission field with the Lion’s Den. “Instead of us spending thousands of dollars to go somewhere like the Philippines, we have the lost come right to us!” he said. Patterson believes hundreds have been saved as a result of the protest, including a couple of former Lion’s Den employees.

“One man got out of his car,” explained Patterson. “He was very confrontational. We thought that we were going to have a physical confrontation, but he calmed down. He got saved, got a Bible, and every time he comes by he’ll drop off something like a case of bottled water or soft drinks.”

Patterson said the protesters in Uniontown are tenacious. “They are out there in blizzards, rain, heat, cold, and they can get down. I mean, they’re human. But every one of them will say to you, ‘I have witnessed to more people in my time protesting than I ever had in all the years of my life before.’” 

The protesters may not have to be out there much longer, however, because the legal battle to close the porn shop is nearing victory. Patterson said they are hoping the store will be closed within a few months.