The Holy Land Experience (HLE) was registered as a Christian-based theme park in Orlando, Florida and registered non-profit corporation. HLE conducted weekly church services and bible studies for the general public. HLE's theme park recreated the architecture and themes of the ancient city of Jerusalem in 1st-century

Judaea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

. The Holy Land Experience was owned by the

Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...

History

The park had its origin in a dream of Marvin Rosenthal, a Jew of Russian origin who became a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

pastor, founder of the missionary organization Zion's Hope, who bought land in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

in 1989. The park opened in February 2001. On August 17, 2002, the Holy Land Experience Scriptorium museum opened. It featured the Van Kampen Collection of biblically related artifacts. The collection included ancient scrolls, manuscripts, and early printed editions of the Bible. The collection was the fourth largest of its kind. The Van Kampen Collection was founded in 1986 by Robert and Judith Van Kampen. In 1994,

Robert Van Kampen Robert D. Van Kampen (1938–1999) was an American businessman, who served as a member of various organizational boards in the business world and Christian ministry. Van Kampen's business career took him into the investment banking world, and he b ...

established a privately funded research library for the purpose of presenting the collection to the academic community as well as the general public. The Scriptorium: Center for Christian Antiquities, located in Grand Haven, MI, housed the Collection. In 2002, the Collection relocated to Orlando, where it was on loan to the Holy Land Experience. In June 2007, the Holy Land Experience Board of Directors sold the property to the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), for an estimated $37 million. The property was an estimated $8 million in debt at the time of the sale. At that time TBN planned to update the park and use the property to build a Central Florida broadcasting facility, and a movie studio in order to produce Christian films. On August 21, 2007, former president and board member Tom Powell resigned his position to seek "new challenges." Four people remained on the park's board:

Paul Crouch Paul Franklin Crouch /kraʊtʃ/ (March 30, 1934 – November 30, 2013) was an American television evangelist. Crouch and his wife, Jan, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in 1973; the company has been described as "the world’s l ...

Sr.,

Jan Crouch Janice Wendell Crouch () (née Bethany; March 14, 1938 – May 31, 2016) was an American religious broadcaster. Crouch and her husband, Paul, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in 1973, along with Jim Bakker. She, along with her ...

, Paul Crouch Jr., and

Matthew Crouch Matthew W. "Matt" Crouch /kraʊtʃ/ (born October 26, 1961) is an American broadcaster, on-air personality, and filmmaker. A second-generation television producer and executive, he is currently president of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), ...

. Between 50 and 100 employees lost their jobs when they were cut from the payroll in October 2007.

was Director and CEO until her death in May 2016. Under TBN’s ownership, The Holy Land Experience underwent construction and the addition of new landscaping, exhibits, restaurants, and theaters which feature live musical and theatrical productions. The park has also introduced weekly bible studies, church services and live cooking demonstrations. The Smile of a Child Adventure Land was added to the park exhibits. This children’s park featured exhibits and activities for children, such as a wilderness rock-climbing wall, toy store, children’s theater and craft center.

Holy Land Experience mission statement

HLE was a non-denominational Christian living biblical museum and church. Church services and bible studies were conducted by ordained pastors for the general public on a weekly basis. HLE was registered as a non-profit corporation with the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations.

Church of All Nations

In 2012, the 2,000 seat Church of All Nations auditorium opened. The facility featured live presentations and reenactments of the passion and

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

of Jesus Christ, and the depiction of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven. Live tapings of TBN’s flagship TV show, '' Praise the Lord'', were also taped in the facility, in addition to concerts and church services.

Closure

In February 2020, after a sharp decline in revenue for several years, the park announced that it would be laying off 118 employees, representing most of its staff, and would be ending all theatrical productions, restaurants and retail shops. On August 2, 2021, the property was sold to

AdventHealth AdventHealth (formerly Adventist Health System) is a Seventh-day Adventist non-profit health care system headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida, that operates facilities in 9 states across the United States. The Adventist Health System was ...

, which plans to redevelop the land for a new hospital.

Exhibits

There were approximately 43 exhibits in the park. God with Us

Controversies

In 2001, the

Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a Jewish far-right religious-political organization in the United States and Canada, whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary". It has been classified as "a right wi ...

accused the park of

proselytizing Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...

Jews because the owner of Zion's Hope Park was a missionary organization. Founder Marvin Rosenthal categorically refuted this accusation. In 2001, Orange County refused the park's tax exemption request. In 2005, a judge ruled in favor of the park because of its mission of spreading the word of God, which is not for profit and, therefore, allows it to benefit from a tax exemption. This is similar to the tax exemption for museums that present historical information on other subjects. The law prevented Orange County from collecting the alleged back taxes as well as forgiving the park $300,000 in yearly property taxes. The law required the park to offer an annual free admissions day.

References

External links

Holy Land Experience
{{Authority control AdventHealth Christianity in Orlando, Florida Defunct amusement parks in Florida Museums established in 2001 Amusement parks opened in 2001 Religious museums in Florida Defunct museums in Florida Trinity Broadcasting Network Tourist attractions in Orlando, Florida Amusement parks in Greater Orlando 2001 establishments in Florida Amusement parks in Florida Christian museums Museums disestablished in 2020 Amusement parks closed in 2020 2020 disestablishments in Florida