ST. LOUIS -- A group of 50 Christian women spent two nights attempting to visit strip clubs and reach out to dancers with a message of love, according to The Chicago Tribune.
Members of Brooklyn, Ill., Fairview Heights church near East St. Louis led the effort. A male parishioner took fruit baskets to the strip clubs' managers and asked permission for the women to enter. Three women followed with canvas bags filled with toilet articles, jewelry and New Testaments, according to the Tribune.
The evangelism effort at strip clubs was part of a Southern Baptist blitz in nearby cities, as more than 10,000 church leaders prepared for their June 11-12 annual convention.
Other Southern Baptist groups hosted block parties or walked through neighborhoods praying.
The women who visited strippers said their mission was about love rather than judgment.
"We were just going to let the girls know that people out there care about them," Valerie Vorpi told the Tribune. "We've all made poor choices. We've all been victimized. We're not all that far apart."
Several groups were turned away by clubs' managers, but others talked to several dancers, the Tribune reported. The women said they plan to keep in touch with the dancers they met, Vorpi told the paper.
