MANSFIELD — When Julie Hardin reads the Bible, she feels a sense of peace and divine strength.
Hardin said people often feel similar things when they tour BibleWalk, just north of Mansfield. It’s a life-sized wax museum depicting stories from Christianity’s holy book.
Located at 500 Tingley Avenue, BibleWalk features more than 325 wax figures and 100 scenes spread throughout three buildings. Biblical tours include the “Life of Christ,” “Miracles of the Old Testament,” “Kingdom of God” and “Amazing Grace — The Journeys of Paul.” The “Museum of Christian Martyrs” and “Heart of the Reformation” exhibits teach visitors about prominent figures in church history.
Many of the tours take place in a dark, isolated hallway with dim lights and solid black walls. In a setting devoid of distractions, automated spotlights guide visitors through the series of scenes.
Each vignette has been carefully designed with hand-painted backdrops, homemade costumes and original narration and music. Most of the narrations are taken directly from the Bible.
“This is the Word of God in a different form,” Hardin said. “We tell the story, and we bring the Bible to life.”
At a scene of Jesus’ crucifixion, spidery cracks in backdrop illuminate to create lightening. A deep voice reads a passage from the Gospels. Ominous music gives way to the sound of a hissing wind.
Later, a figure of Jesus hovers above a group of disciples in a cloud. An audio clip tells of his ascension into Heaven. The Hallelujah Chorus plays.
While BibleWalk may be bestl-known for its wax figure collection, there is much more to see during a visit.
The campus is also home to Joseph Barta’s woodcarving collection. Barta created 100 life-sized wooden figures over the course of 30 years. These figures depict biblical scenes like Daniel in the lion’s den and the Last Supper.
Tours of the wax museum and museum of woodcarving range from $5 to $6.50 for adults, with discounts available for students and seniors. Children under the age of 8 can enter for free.
The campus is also home to numerous free exhibits featuring religious paintings, a rare Bible collection, animated Bible scenes, word art, additional wood carvings and even American Votive Folk Art.
Hardin said the museum’s figures have been purchased from other museums that were closing their doors. Many of the exhibits were donated from across the country.
“God has made us sort of like a collection point,” said Carol Norton, a volunteer tour guide and office worker at the museum. “We’re very excited with the things that God has given us to work with and to share his love through all these different ways.”
Hardin said God’s provision to build the museum and keep it running has been nothing short of miraculous.
“I have observed all of the miracles that the Lord has done, not only to get this [museum] open, but to keep it going forward, and more importantly, the miracles that He has done in peoples’ lives and hearts who have toured here,” she said. “It’s not like we’re out there looking for [the figures].
“It seems that they come to us or we just hear about it.”
Norton drives to Mansfield from Columbus twice a week to volunteer at BibleWalk. She’s volunteered since the museum’s beginning, but her enthusiasm for the art and the story it tells hasn’t waned.
“This all represents the word of God and that’s what we want to share,” Norton said. “Whatever it takes for them to know about this love of the heavenly Father that we all have — He loves us all.”
Diamond Hill broke ground on the museum in 1985. According to a booklet on the museum’s history, volunteers did everything but lay the concrete. Parishioners constructed the buildings, created the displays and crafted the special effects. Some even learned taxidermy to make displays with animals as realistic as possible.
BibleWalk opened in August 1987 as the Living Bible Museum. It was founded and continues as a ministry of Diamond Hill Cathedral, a non-denominational church founded by Rev. Richard Diamond and his late wife, Alwida. (Hardin said the church building was already named Diamond Hill when the couple bought it — they did not name the church after themselves.)
BibleWalk began with 22 life-size statues purchased from a similar museum in Pennsylvania.
“When people went through, we were surprised what limited knowledge Christians have of the New Testament and hardly no knowledge of the Old Testament,” Hardin said. “When Reverend Diamond saw that, he thought, ‘Let’s expand this.’”
Hardin said the most fulfilling part of the job is seeing people gain a greater understanding of God and his word.
“That’s my reward — when people come out and I know that they come out with a greater understanding of God’s word. They come out with wanting more of a relationship with Jesus,” she said.
Members of the church are planning to start work on an eighth tour this spring. The tour will be based on Biblical city. Hardin said it will likely take about a year to complete.
BibleWalk’s hours vary throughout the year. In April and May, the museum will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For a full listing of BibleWalk’s hours, visit the museum’s website.
