The man behind “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible”

The Houston Chronicle tracked down Pastor Bruce Wersen, the man behind all the “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible” videos that have been posted on YouTube (and on Route 66 News) in the past year or so.

Wersen, 48, leads the His Place Community Church in Burlington, Wash. Using each of the Bible’s 66 books as a narrative springboard, Werson plays straight man as he converses with biblical hitchhikers in an old convertible.

A few excerpts from the interview:

Q: What prompted this project?

A: My training was in film, not seminary, so I approach things a bit differently as a pastor. Other churches have had sermon series called “Route 66” (for the Bible’s 66 books), but we thought, why not take that idea to the next level and actually go down the real Route 66 and pick up characters as hitchhikers? […]

Q: You’re on a tight budget, and your church is hundreds of miles north of Route 66. How did you film the opening sequence and background shots?

A: One of the office gals went on Craigslist and found a ’62 Falcon for $600, so we bought it, chopped the roof off and made a poor man’s convertible. A fella in the church volunteered to put the car on a trailer and drive it down to Arizona. We stayed in a $35 motel that was just horrible, and then we got up early and spent the next day filming the backgrounds. Every time we’d see a scenic shot, we’d jump out and get the car off the trailer. By 6 o’clock that night, we were heading home.

Clarification: I’m fairly certain nearly all of the background footage in the series was shot in California’s Mojave Desert, not Arizona.

Wersen choose this video, based on the Book of Haggai, as his favorite: