USA

SC Man No Longer Barred From Sharing His Faith, Can Hold Sign that Says 'Trust Christ'

Michael Ringer

04 Nov 2025 — 2 min read

A South Carolina man is no longer barred from sharing his faith on a public sidewalk and can hold a sign that reads "Trust Christ."

The U.S. District Court of the District of South Carolina entered a consent order on October 30, 2025, with the Town of Chapin, South Carolina, preventing them from enforcing an ordinance that stopped local resident Ernest Giardino from holding religious signs in public without a permit.

Ernest Giardino, an elder at Chapin Fellowship Church, had been holding signs on public sidewalks for eight months without incident. The signs read "Trust Christ He paid the price" on one side and "He Saved Others—Jesus—He'll Save You" on the other side.

On June 20, 2024, a Chapin police officer approached Giardino and informed him that he needed permission from the town before he could hold such signs. The town ordinance required Giardino to give officials two weeks' advance notice, limited him to holding his sign for only 30 minutes, and required him to change sidewalk corners every 15 minutes.

First Liberty Institute filed a federal lawsuit on July 15, 2025, on Giardino's behalf. According to the lawsuit, Chapin Planning & Zoning Manager Reid Radtke allegedly told Giardino: "Our permit supersedes the Constitution because it's a local ordinance."

The federal consent order now allows Giardino to share his faith through his signs without obtaining a permit. The Order also requires the Town to pay nominal damages and attorneys' fees.

"Mr. Giardino just wants to share his Christian faith with others," said First Liberty Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. "We commend the Town for revising the ordinance language so Mr. Giardino can live out his faith in the public sphere."

THE CRUSADER'S OPINION

A government bureaucrat told a Christian that a local ordinance "supersedes the Constitution." Read that again. An American official claimed his town permit was more powerful than the First Amendment. This is the tyranny Christians face in 2025 America.

Ernest Giardino stood on a public sidewalk with a sign that said "Trust Christ." No amplification. No blocking traffic. Just a man sharing the Gospel. And the government told him he needed permission. Two weeks' notice. Thirty-minute limit. Move every fifteen minutes. All to hold a sign about Jesus.

This is what happens when bureaucrats decide they're bigger than the Constitution. They'll let protestors burn cities. They'll let activists block highways. But a Christian holding a "Trust Christ" sign? That requires a permit.

Thank God for First Liberty Institute, who fought back and won. Giardino can now freely share his faith. But the real question is this: why did it take a federal lawsuit to protect a Christian's right to speak about Jesus on an American sidewalk? The Constitution already guaranteed that right. The government just refused to honor it.

Every Christian needs to understand what just happened here. Our religious freedom isn't being lost by accident. It's being stolen by officials who believe their local ordinances matter more than our constitutional rights. And they won't stop until we force them to.