One would never expect churches to do shocking or controversial things, but there seem to be a few exceptions. One example is a church in Lexington, Kentucky, where the vacation bible school put together an alleged play where some actors dressed up as armed individuals pretended to fire at a man who was on the ground while everyone was chanting, but the real concern for many was that the audience included children, which many viewers found alarming.
Many might have already seen the video, which, according to sources, was recorded inside Mt. Olivet Baptist Church and found its way to the Lexington subreddit. In the clip, you can see inside this Kentucky church a couple of men acting as armed soldiers of sorts approaching a man who’s on the stairs while those inside the church chant, “Take him out, blow him up,” including children. The men then stage an execution and drag the person out.
As you can imagine, the clip caused a lot of backlash, as it would seem the church is exposing the children to what many deem as a violent act, with some even believing this is a way of “brainwashing” the audience.
Since the video became viral, Pastor DeWayne Walker, whom many have already identified online, uploaded a video on YouTube titled “My Response,” which you can see below.
In the video, Pastor Walker addresses the “firestorm,” as he puts it, saying he is befuddled by the misinformation spreading. He then says it was a small part of the church’s vacation Bible school. The Pastor says that they have actors every year who play several parts, including evil characters. He claims that it is part of those who play the “Commandos for Christ”, which has been a recurring theme in the church for several years now.
Despite the Pastor’s video trying to calm the waters surrounding the controversial footage, it seems it didn’t work, as people from inside and outside of Kentucky have heavily criticized what this church is doing.
Kentucky Residents Furious at What’s Happening Inside the Church
Both on Reddit and Facebook, where both videos showed up, people have left several comments talking about the harm that these activities could do to children, as well as denouncing the state of the church.
“Christians in name only.“
“This is intentionally inflicting trauma on children. What is wrong with these people?“
Another Reddit user provided further context, claiming that these “shows” have been going on for a while and have changed a bit with each play.
“They’ve been doing this for 30+ years during their vacation bible school program.“
In the end, people still feel extremely uncomfortable with what the church is doing and hope that these shows don’t repeat, as they could potentially traumatize children.
