A church in Louisiana has been vandalized after posting messages on their front sign asking others to get vaccinated.

First Grace United Methodist Church decided to post a sign asking the community to get vaccinated, which read "Love Thy Neighbor. Get Vaccinated".

Vandals then spray-painted over the vaccination statement and wrote a reference to Revelation 13:17, which states: "so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name." This verse is often understood to be a reference to the 'mark of the beast', a symbol used to mark nonbelievers in the end-times.

They then wrote "Faith over Fear" in front of the church.

"There is a lot of anger out there...we need to be praying for each other..." First Grace pastor Shawn Moses Anglim wrote on his Facebook page with reference to the vandalism.

"Make today a day of prayer for those who experience and see the world differently from you...ask that God will help you empathize with them, and to turn the other cheek and keep walking in truth and faith and kindness...God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it."

The graffiti was cleaned up quickly by Shawn's son and fellow pastor, Patrick Eagan. No details have been released as to who the vandals are.

As of August 2021, only 37 per cent of Louisiana's population has received the vaccine.