A Kentucky church is facing fierce backlash after a group of men dressed like armed commandos stormed a children’s Bible class and staged the dramatic “execution” of the Devil.
The shocking scene unfolded during vacation Bible school at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington, where a military-style group known as the “Commandos for Christ” surrounded a man dressed as Satan and appeared to open fire as young children watched.
Video of the bizarre performance showed Pastor Dewayne Walker encouraging the crowd to chant, “Take him out! Blow him up!”
The costumed “Devil” could be seen flailing on the floor as the commandos raised what church leaders later described as air rifles similar to paintball guns.
A burst of realistic gunfire sounds then filled the room before the Devil character was dragged through a side door.
Children in the audience could be heard screaming and cheering as the dramatic skit played out in front of them.
Footage of the performance quickly spread across TikTok and Reddit, triggering outrage from parents, anti-gun activists and concerned residents.
Lexington police said they received several calls, tips and complaints after the clip began circulating online.
Retired teacher Kathi Crowe, a member of the gun-control organization Moms Demand Action, called the performance “unbelievably disturbing.”
Crowe said churches are supposed to be safe places for children and described the mock shooting as “an appalling abuse.”
She also urged religious leaders to do more to discourage violence rather than stage scenes that appear to celebrate it.
But Walker said he was stunned by the furious reaction and claimed critics had misunderstood the church’s message.
“The misinformation out there is sad, and I guess it’s a part of what this generation has become,” Walker said in a Facebook video responding to the controversy.
The pastor explained that the church has staged dramatic battles between good and evil during its vacation Bible school program for more than three decades.
“We have characters every year that represent good and right and God, and we have characters that represent evil and wrong and that which should be avoided,” he said.
“Every year, for 32 years, we’ve had this evil against good ritual in our vacation Bible school.”
Walker said the “Commandos for Christ” had become part of the annual event in recent years and insisted the viral clip showed nothing more than the symbolic defeat of Satan.
“The clip you saw was simply killing the Devil,” he said.
“You may not like how we did it. You may not like we used air rifles that are basically paintball guns, and maybe you’re right, maybe we’re wrong, but understand that we’re painting a real picture for kids to visibly see what’s going on.”
Some church supporters defended the performance and said Mt. Olivet operates one of the most interactive vacation Bible school programs in the country.
Russell Weisgerber, whose son attended the event, admitted the scene could have been handled differently but worried the viral controversy would overshadow the church’s positive work.
“It could have been better, it could have been different, I’m not going to argue with it,” Weisgerber told WKYT.
“It really hurts my heart because nobody wants to talk about the years of good from this church.”
The pastor has not indicated whether the controversial “Commandos for Christ” skit will return next year.
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