“To Hell and Back,” an illustrated sermon that takes the audience on a journey to hell to meet those who have been condemned, has been a staple event of Greater Grace Temple in Detroit for over a decade.
On Friday evening, thousands will watch the scary and insightful message yet again, and just in time for Halloween. Bishop Charles H. Ellis hold the popular well attended event each year.
Ellis says the event, which has been held on the Friday before Halloween for the last 13 years, isn’t a drama but is an illustrated sermon composed of dramatic elements. “To Hell and Back” features an angel who guides Ellis through hell, where suffering sinners share their testimonies about how they lived their lives apart from God.
The bishop says the concept for the sermon came from another pastor, Tommy Barnett of Phoenix First Assembly of God in Arizona, who allowed him to adjust the script to make it more relevant to a primarily urban, African-American crowd. Among the characters who share their testimonies from hell are biblical names such as Judas Iscariot, Cain, and “the rich man” who treated Lazarus poorly, along with more contemporary individuals including “gang bangers,” a false prophet, a drunkard, a fornicator, homosexuals and an internet predator.
Watch a few snippets below:
What do you think? The subject matter is really contemporary. It hits the hell that our families have been going through.
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