CAMERON – For the fifth time since 2017, the First Baptist Church here held a Judgment House presentation for the community.
This year, the three-day event had 52 separate 20-minute tours, with a total of 1,265 people attending.
“This was our highest ever attendance,” said Pastor Terry Beasley.
For those not familiar, Judgment House it is an evangelistic walk through drama with a crisis, eternal choices, a view of a hell room, a view of a heaven room, and a room where those in the tour are invited to make a decision for Christ.
The big news is 42 people accepted Christ. Beasley said this was actually a little lower than some other years.
Beasley was looking at scripts in the spring, but wasn’t drawn to one. He then learned of one done at Easter by a South Carolina church. That church had written the script and it was approved by Judgment House. Beasley “jumped through the hoops” to get the organizations’s permission to read the South Carolina script, “Overwhelmed,” and decided that would be done in Cameron.
In 2017, the church tried four presentation nights in a five night span, but it has now pared it down to Sunday, Wednesday and another Sunday.
“Judgment House is an emotional experience. We don’t want just a decision made on the emotion of the moment. We want to make sure they respond to the gospel, to realize they are a sinner, and want them to repent from that.
For Beasley’s church, the question is, Do they do Judgment House the next year, as there is always a lot of work?
“But if not, what else can we do to get that kind of response? Why not do it again?” he asked.
This year, the church had 150 people acting, serving in security, hospitality, costuming, making sets, decision counselors and prayer walkers.
“There’s a way everyone in the church can be involved,” he said.
Beasley knows some out-of-town churches bring people for Judgment House.
“I need to reiterate we want this to reach our community (too.)”
A love offering of $3,300 will go for a citywide food pantry/clothes closet.