Members of the Mountain View Adventist Church in Las Vegas teamed with scores of other people as the latest digital cameras captured the faces of ancient history-makers for one November week in the desert near Las Vegas. Volunteer members served as models, prop creators and set builders as many of the most inspiring moments in biblical history were recreated and photographed.

Irony Reigned

The Adventist Communication Network (ACN) and It Is Written Digital Media Group (IIWDMG) partnered to capture more than 6,500 authentic images of Bible characters in a project called "FACES: Biblical Folks" that will bring new artwork for pastors, teachers and laity to use in telling the old, old story.

The archaic faces of the Bible were digitized on microchips.

Everyday folks of today became authentic people of Scripture.

The desert of the ultra modern city of Las Vegas—"Sin City"—brought to life the timeless story of righteousness.

The sewage-fed Las Vegas wash became the cleansing Jordan River.

The man-made Lake Mead became the God-used Sea of Galilee.

"ACN is impassioned to provide the very latest digital resources for growing healthy congregations," says project producer Jere Wallack.

"Pastors from across the North American Division have been begging for fresh, contemporary photographs illustrating Bible stories," adds Dave Gemmell, project director.

The Process

Scores of members from the Mountain View Seventh-day Adventist Church in Las Vegas, under casting director 'Chelle Reed, lent their faces to the project. Often the day started at 3:15 a.m. when volunteers drove to the shoot location. When they arrived they were rushed to wardrobe where Tom Neslund outfitted them with the correct clothing for the characters they would portray. The men moved on to "facial hair" where Dick Stenbakken glued on natural looking beards.

Then came make-up with professional artist Mycki Manning. Finally, the made-over characters grabbed some props and headed for the trail, ridge, river or lake where photographer Erik Stenbakken used his artistic skills to capture the faces of biblical folks with his 11-mega pixel digital camera. "The quality is fantastic," Stenbakken explained of the nearly 35 gigabytes of photos.

The Point

Why would people take a day, or two or three, off work to subject themselves to sleep deprivation, endless waiting and face plastering?

"It was a profound spiritual experience," said Rachel Handley as she tearfully relived the story of Naomi and Ruth. Many other tears flowed freely as the crucifixion was graphically recreated. "This experience changed my life," said Dave Everts after he allowed his head to be shaved in order to relive the troubles of Job and the agony of the thief on the cross.

The volunteer models pray that their faces will draw thousands of people to God's love. "The gold mine of marvelous images will provide authentic photographs for years to come," says Steve Creitz, project associate director, "and the first of the images will be released within the later part of 2004."

Immediate Impact

However, the impact on many unchurched individuals was immediate. Actor Andrew Curby learned for the first time the story of Jesus as he acted the healing of the sick, feeding of 5,000 and hung on the cross. Peter Field Peck, a freelance photographer from New York, was so captured by the irony of the project that he flew to Las Vegas to shoot a documentary of fellow professional photographer Erik Stenbakken doing his work.

The curiosity of a tourist couple from Tel Aviv caused them to stop as they drove past the shoot location. "What's going on?" they asked.

"A photo-shoot of Bible characters," was the answer.

"Of course," the couple said, "this landscape is exactly like Israel."

"The week was filled with miracles," said associate producer Stacia Dulan. "We had ideal weather, picture perfect sunrises and sunsets and a great team of models."

"God graced this project," Gemmell says. He recounts the story of how one disappointment turned into a huge windfall as a critical location remained elusive due to bureaucratic paperwork. While waiting, another complete day of photography took place—terrific pictures never would have been captured if not for the delay. The wait was worth the holdup as ancient cabins in the Valley of Fire State Park were transformed into an ancient Jewish community where a dead boy was raised to life, children were taught from the prophets' scroll, Paul wrote from prison and Mary and Joseph took refuge.

The ACN/IIWDMG team was hoping for 200 to 300 photographs, but ended up with more than 6,500 images. "These are awesome, story-telling pictures," says Wallack. "They will make an impact for God for many years to come."

"The greatest miracle of all," Gemmell adds, "was the joyful attitude that the scores of volunteers brought to the project."