Lynchburg's House of Death

By BenWhitt & Rachael Mason

Portraying physical death with the purpose of showing eternal lifeinChrist,Scaremare opened itsdoors again for the 24thseason.

Scaremare has attracted nearly 200,000 visitorstoits horrific rooms and hallways since 1972. It has truly evolved intoa fallclassicfornotonlythepeople of Lynchburg but also church youthgroupsfrom fivesurrounding states.

Starting asearly asJuly and kickingintohigh gearinAugust, a team, includingProjectCoordinator Troy Temple andtwo floor leaders, Kirk Class and Ben Whitt,begintowork. They,along withthestudentconstructioncoordinators and room leaders, work to complete the various tasksofpainting, prop construction, andcostume collecting.

The purpose ofScaremareis seen asyouenter the last room ofthe "House ofDeath." Christ is portrayed astheSavior, crucified on the cross forall people, inthe hope that they would seetheirneed forHim. Tents areset up togivethe Gospel presentation to all thathaveseentheportrayal ofdeath in thislife. More than 1,000 people made professions of faith in Christthis year.

Scaremare portrayed physicaldeathto emphasize theeternal destination ofone'ssoul withoutChrist

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I he afraid?"

Psalm 27:1

Cbr/st/an Outreaob

With achance toserveand adesire to make adifference,Libertystudentsfound hundreds of ways to make animpact on the community.

Seniorelementary educationmajor Frank Adamkiewicz served with Christian Outreach. The group isa ministry to both single parents and alsoincludesawitnessing program totruckerson Interstate 81.

Through Christian Outreach, Frank saw another way oflife. "It really opened my eyes to a different cultureI didn'tevenknow existed.In the mountains,people's lifestyles and means ofsurvivalare different."

TouohingLivesthroughouttheArea

Ai/ante A/urs/ng Home

JuniorJulieAinsleychoseto visitAvanteNursing Home inLynchburg as herCommunity Service. She said,"Thereare a lot of peoplein nursinghomes who don'tget visitedregularlyby anyone. They all want someone to talkwith and visitwithjustlikewe do," shesaid. "Putyourselfintheirplace. Wouldn't you want peopleto come and visityou?"

Justbeingavailableto listenand spend timewith oneof the residentsmet the requirements.Julieoften talked to the residents, worked puzzles, took them outsideto enjoythefreshair, and simply served as a "friend"tothem.

Shewas surprised at theirjoyful spirits andwillingness tosing totheLord."It's amazing tosit and watch thesepeople singby memory when so many of themhavedisabilities We takeso much for granted Here,we are complaining most of the time, and all thesepeoplecandoissingfor the Lord. Itreallyputs thingsin perspectivefor me. I'm alwaysblessedwhen I gothere."

fVbee/Power

The group givesBiblepushers a new name.SarahGay,asophomore education major,served with Wheel Power. Wheel Power is an organization thatusesbicyclingasawitnessingtool. Members cycle acrossAmerica and witnesstoothers on theroad,encouragechurchestoreachout totheircommunities,startBibleandbike clubs forchildren and incorporate the Biblewithlocalbicycle rides.

While in Lynchburg, she helped missionary couples paint and clean theirhomes and aided invarious ofaea5ey fice aspectsofthe organization. Sarah first caught thevisionafter her tripacrosstheUnitedStateswiththeteam in1995and wanted tocontinuewith the ministry.Shesaid, "It'srewardingtoknow thatI'm doing something that'sactually helping someone rather than being assigned something just tokeep me busy."

Youth Detent/on Center

The audience is young and troubled.Drugs and crime havemade anegativeimpactontheirlives.Communityservicevolunteerstrytomake a difference.

Craig McDonald,a second year student, ministered at theLynchburg YouthDetentionCenter. Eachweek a group of 10 to 15 students delivered a message,played games, sangsongs,and prayedwiththeadolescents.Specialspeakersshared theirtestimoniesincludingLibertycoachesand athletes.

Craigfirstbecame involvedwiththeCenterafter having the desireto preach and witness for Christ. His main focuswas building relationshipswith the kidsasquickly aspossible. He said, "It's frustrating attimes because justwhen you're getting to know oneofthem,heleaves.That'swhy yourelatetothem asmuch asyou can and show them thehope that is only found inJesus Christ."

The ministry is threefold. Firstis discipleship. Second is ensuring salvation decisionsare completely understood. And finally, it is preparing new Christians in theChristian life. "It's not going tobe an easy life.We need to explainto them what theymay face. Satanwill definitelybeattackingthem whetherthroughdoubtor discouragement," he added. "It'simportant they un- ^™ b derstand this and areready toface it."

During World ImpactConference,Teen Maniawas apopularboothtovisit.Teen Mania challenged teenstoreachotherteens withacontemporary method ofevangelism.