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What will it be, heaven or hell?

A church will host tours of one's "final destination.''

By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published October 29, 2006

At Judgement House, you won't see evil clowns, chain saw-wielding maniacs or creepy rat-infested coffins.

But you may feel the presence of a ghost, albeit a holy one.

Judgement House is an eight-scene religious drama that beckons you to "tour your final destination." So buckle your seat belts and get ready for a guided tour of heaven and hell.

Tom Hudgins, founder and president of Judgement House, acknowledges that the tour may scare the devil out of some people. It is not recommended for those younger than 10.

Still, he says, the object is not to terrify, but to enlighten.

"We don't see this as a spook house where we're trying to scare people into heaven. We do want to alarm people to the fact that death is real and you must be ready. We believe the only way to be ready is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ."

This is the 13th Judgement House to be held at Calvary Baptist. Visitors, usually about 3,500, come from as far away as Sebring and Homestead, Hudgins said.

This year, organizers expect the church's new sanctuary and campus on McMullen-Booth Road to be an added draw. They expect as many as 5,000.

The plot this year is based on a school shooting.

Hudgins is aware that some may question the appropriateness of the subject matter on the heels of the Amish schoolhouse tragedy, but said the production was well under way and couldn't be changed.

"It made me sick to my stomach," he said. "We began planning this six months ago and couldn't turn back. We've been praying on it."

Other scripts have included a cancer victim, an alcohol-related car wreck, a tornado, a house fire and a plane crash.

"Sixteen-year-olds aren't really thinking about dying. They think they will live forever," Hudgins said. "I want to prepare them now."

In 1983, shortly after a rash of Tylenol tamperings, Hudgins, then a youth pastor in Alabama, came up with the idea of staging a religious drama instead of the traditional Halloween haunted house.

"Everyone was looking for a way to get kids off the street and in a safer environment," he said.

He wrote a script for his first Judgement House, which was built by the Alabama congregation, and 500 people showed up. Fifty of those "made a decision to follow the Lord," he said.

Hudgins, who came to Calvary Baptist as youth pastor in 1994, emphasized that Judgement House is not the same as some of the other religious "hell" houses that use graphic, in-your-face depictions of abortion scenes, date rape, teen suicide and gays dying of AIDS.

"We don't address social issues," Hudgins said. "We do use tragedy to emphasize that Jesus is the only way to heaven."

This year, about 300 churches in 32 states and seven foreign countries will present Judgement House scripts, licensed through the nonprofit organization run by Hudgins called New Creation Evangelism. It's an endeavor he runs full time from an office near the Calvary Baptist campus.

Guests will move from room to room as they follow the lives and deaths of central characters, some of whom will spend eternal life in heavenly bliss, while others sizzle in a hellish nightmare.

"Hell" is a dark, smelly prison filled with wailing demons, thunder and lightning. Electric heaters make for a toasty room.

And forget the devil of yesteryear with horns and a pitchfork. Today's devil wears a black turtleneck and slacks, maybe even an earring.

On the way to the Promised Land, guests are cloaked in white capes. The temperatures become cooler, the air more fragrant. An angel plays a harp. Heaven is white, with silver and gold lame trim.

Attention to detail is key, Hudgins said.

For instance, when visitors meet Jesus, he will likely greet them and call them by name, with confidence.

"We'll be feeding Jesus breath mints all night long," Hudgins said.

[Last modified October 28, 2006, 19:25:40]