US church's 'have more sex' ads for married couples draws ire

Washington, Feb 13 (ANI): A church in the United States has left some people upset by putting up billboards urging married couples to have more sex.

However, lead pastor Heath Mooneyham of Ignite Church, Joplin, Mo., said the message is all about love, and God's purpose for it, which includes sex, reports ABC News.

The billboards - one of which features a man in jeans and T-shirt, his tattooed arms holding the legs of a woman who has her arms around his neck, and her legs wrapped around his waist - are to advertise a series the church is doing to promote more sex between married couples so that they will avoid being tempted into sin.

A similar image was the first to display on the Ignite Church website, and at the church's related site, MySexLifeSucks.org.

"We're doing a series about sex, and God's intended purpose for it. We're hitting things like adultery and pornography," said Mooneyham.

"This is really one of the major issues that's ripping marriages apart. They are at a higher risk of adultery, looking at pornography - that leads to divorce," he added.

The pastor said that 86 percent of married couples who took an online pool of the church's website said they were not having enough sex in their marriage lives.

So he decided to try to do something about it, planning a series of Sunday 'experiences' about sex at the church, and creating a series of videos on the subject for the Web site.

"Some people think we are porno-fying the church," he said.

He argued that what the church is really trying to do is help people with their marriages - helping the faithful stay faithful.

The billboards around town may feature people in sexual poses, but they are married people, he said.

That distinction might be lost on some Joplin residents, especially since they carry the name of the website MySexLifeSucks.org in bold black letters.

The message on that site might be even more controversial - 'God Is Pro Sex. It Should Be Exciting'.

"There is no way ever I would take my kids to a church with a big sign advertising sex," said Veronica Warren.

One of the billboards is near a Sonic fast food restaurant.

"People bring their kids to Sonic and their kids are going to look at that sign and say, 'Mommy what's that mean?' and, oh my God, and then that parent has to explain," said Warren.

Despite some people's reservations about what the church is doing, Mooneyham said that the way the world is today, kids are already exposed to sex at an early age.

If that is going to happen, he said, he would rather have them exposed to it in church. (ANI)