Home

What is the 99? Hell House

99

--shhhh, I can't tell you. Go see it for yourself http://whatisthe99.com

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

next visit?

Hey, guys! My mother and I just would like to know when your next visit close to Little Rock, Arkansas?? We really enjoyed the "Hell House" when you guys last visited!!! We would like to work for you again the next time you visit.

the 99

Was curious regarding your opinion of the '99' and the type of evangelism it exemplifies. I'm a pastor in Vacaville, CA, and the 99 is currently running close by. Thoughts?

Unbelievable Ministry

I went to THE 99 three times. The first time I brought my children. The second time I brought some children from our church. The third time they told other youth about the ministry and they asked me to go with them again. It was so real it made such an impact on how real it is to serve Jesus.

Can't wait until you come back.

99 very basic

Good to hear from you Mr. Paulson. I'd say the presentation is a very mild "turn or burn" evangelism. Since most people think doing good things get you into heaven and bad things get you into hell, that is probably how it would come across to an average non-Christian. It gets the person thinking. Several non-Christians we took greatly benefited from it and it allowed us more opportunity to speak with them about the Gospel. Let me know how it goes in your area.

Thankyou for your response re: the 99

I appreciate the fact you took the time to write back ... the event here in Solano County (Bay Area, N. California) has been met with some resistance. Primarily, the community college board (at least one member) felt a bit mislead. Solano Community College agreed to allow the 99 to use the grounds, but several people are claiming that the 99 was not upfront regarding what the event was really about. As a result, the event was allowed to continue, but has been receiving very bad press.
To be honest, because the 99 is intentionally "vague" regarding their true intent, I tend to think SCC has a valid point. And that brings me to my primary issue with the 99. If an organization intends to evangelize during a production of some sort - a play, a drama, a 'county fair', whatever - then it ought to be upfront about that, in my opinion. We don't need to hide the Gospel, we don't need to "sneak it in". It's dishonest and unethical. It's bait and switch, is what it is. This is my primary beef.
Also, I'm just not a huge fan of this kind of evangelism. Can God use any means to reveal truth to people? Absolutely. But that doesn't - or shouldn't - give us Carte Blanche to preach any way we see fit. IMO, this type of evangelism leads to far more false conversions than authentic ones. Whenever we attempt to prey on people's emotions - whether "happy" or "sad" - excited or scared - the results are generally bad. Certainly, kids especially, are going to be emotionally moved to "make a decision" in order to avoid hell. But is this smart? Is it the Gospel, really? Do people leave this event with a clear presentation of sin, separation, and the grace/mercy of Jesus Christ as a result? I doubt it. But maybe this is just my Calvinismi coming out - LoL - again, thanks for taking the time to respond. Appreciate it! Sincerely, Pastor Darren Paulson, Providence Community Church, Vacaville, CA

Hell House 99

Pastor Paulson, it has been a while since I've interacted on this topic, but as a Calvinisti myself I must say I fully agree that the approach of the 99 is more of a bait and switch. Also, the few young people we took; well it doesn't appear the "conversion" held. They are actually even worse now. Further, and this will be the big point, the reason I edited my original article on the 99 is because its organizers wrote and asked me to. My original article revealed what the 99 was about (not in a negative manner) which apparently negated the "sneak-it-in" approach the 99 organizers were trying for. I think it may be partly because a Google search for what is the 99 haunted house brings up my site as the third link; before you even get to their official site. So, maybe I was ruining the sneak :-)

As a Roman Catholic, I am so

As a Roman Catholic, I am so happy to see a pastor say what you have. I get very frustrated with others trying to change my faith! If the teenagers are making poor decisions such as drinking, maybe the parents need to take a step back and look at how they are raising their children? Good morals are taught at home, in the family setting, not by an evengelistic group trying to convert!

Bravo

Pastor Paulson, thank you for your response and we wholeheartedly agree. If the whole basis of our existence on this earth is to be like Christ and do ministry as He did, we are to put Him on, become a servant and love mankind without reservation; extending the grace and mercy of God that's been shown to us. Would we ever use fear-based tactics to portray the loving-kindness, grace and mercy of Christ our Savior - something He conquered at Calvary? I think not. Your response has filled us with hope that there are those who still hold the Gospel and its message to heart by showing love and honoring God instead of exploiting it by magnifying the wrong human emotions that drive to surface decisions.