Cropwell Baptist Jeff Huey travels nation in mobile Judgement House

When Jeff Huey began working with Judgement House presentations at Cropwell Baptist Church in St. Clair Association 17 years ago, he had no idea that one day he would be working full-time for the ministry. And without any salary at that.
   
In January, Huey resigned as minister to students at Cropwell to become coordinator of a  new mobile ministry with Judgement House. This portable Judgement House can be taken to smaller churches that may not have the funds to stage such a presentation.
   
A ministry of New Creation Evangelism, Inc., of Clearwater, Fla., Judgement House is a series of scenes that show circumstances such as natural disasters, that bring the characters to the last moments of their lives. The scenes follow the characters to their final destination, which is heaven for some, hell for others. “This is all new ground,” Huey said of the mobile ministry.
   
The mobile unit, complete with sets, props, costumes, sound and lighting equipment, will be housed in a custom-built, fifth-wheel trailer, explained Judgement House creator Tom Hudgins.
   
“The front portion of the trailer provides living space for Jeff while on the road,” Hudgins said.
“He will hitch the trailer to his truck and drive to churches that request assistance to present Judgement House to their communities.”
   
Hudgins formulated the Judgement House concept in 1983 while on staff at Bethel Baptist Church in Moody. He also served on the staff of First Baptist Church, Pell City, and First Baptist Church, Trussville. before relocating to Florida.
   
Though Hudgins created Judgement House as an alternative to secular Halloween activities, it has grown to be a year-round event. A church in Brunswick, Ga., for example, scheduled its Judgement House for March.
   
A church in Cambellsville, Ky., prefers to stage Judgement House for Easter. The mobile Judgement House has been scheduled for churches in Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois.
Huey is also excited about the possibility of taking the unit to Costa Rica.
   
“The mobile concept is an incredible tool for church planting as well as evangelism,” stated Hudgins. “Missionaries and pastors are already flooding us with requests for a visit from this new Judgement House Mobile Ministry.”
   
Huey emphasized that the mobile ministry opens up opportunities to take Judgement House into states and areas where it currently isn’t staged. Its beauty lies in the fact that it attracts people who may not normally go to church. At the Judgement House presentations he has coordinated, people have come to mock the message.
   
“One day, the message that the mockers and the witches have heard may sink in and change their lives.”
   
As Huey, his wife, Tammy, and three children — Holly, 15, Bethany, 12, and Matthew, 11 — embark on the new ministry, they do so in faith that God will take care of their needs.
   
Even though the ministry is based in Florida, Huey plans to continue working out of Pell City, because it is closer to the areas where the mobile unit likely will be taken.
   
For more information, call 205-369-7949.