More than one million people from all walks of life have been uplifted and entertained by "Heaven Bound," the folk drama that follows, through song and verse, the struggles between Satan and a band of pilgrims on their way down the path of glory that leads to the golden gates.

Staged annually and without interruption for more than seventy years at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta, "Heaven Bound" is perhaps the longest running black theater production. Here, a lifelong member of Big Bethel with many close ties to "Heaven Bound" recounts its lively history and...