JENNINGS, La. — The Jesus Worship Center was vandalized twice just a day apart. In the early hours of Friday morning, the North campus was hit. Written in red spray paint on the walls of the church were "Devil Has Risen."
Surveillance footage captured two masked individuals on church grounds around 3:30 A.M.
Then on Sunday morning, the church's South campus was also graffitied showing a pentagon, which in the Christianity religion, means the mark of the devil.
The center's Pastor Clifton Lejeune says these incidents doesn't take away from the bigger picture and his unwavering faith and devotion to the worship center.
"This is a minor scrimmage but it is a spiritual battle," Lejeune said. "This isn't about buildings and it's not about vandals for us, because we believe and preach that we are not physical beings but spiritual beings housed in physical bodies."
Pastor Lejeune believes his church was a target due to the substantial growth and positivity the center preaches.
"We have a very active recovery program and we are very active with people who are incarcerated and addicted and active with people involved in gangs, this is expected for the things we do," Lajuene tells KATC.
Both the North and South campuses have completely covered the graffiti by using paint and pressure washing and hope to show others how their faith can not be broken.
"What they meant for evil god means for good what this does it rallies the church, instead of discouraging the people it invigorates the people instead of causing people to quit and rethink what they are doing it makes them double down on their faith this is all good for us," Lejeune says.
Pastor Lajeune tells KATC that addition of more surveillance cameras for the South campus might be installed in the near future to hopefully detect any more acts of vandalism.
The church urges with anyone with information about these acts of vandalism to contact Jennings Police Department or Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff's Office.
