Museum of the Bible Gets a New Leader: 'Lift Up the Word of God'

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A change is coming for the Museum of the Bible with a new CEO, Dr. Carlos Campo.

As Dr. Campo prepares to take over leadership of the museum, he tells CBN News he's excited to keep building on its tradition of being a place that inspires and encourages visitors to learn more about God's Word.

"It's such an immersive experience here, where whatever you're viewing whether it's the New Testament experience or the Hebrew Bible, it's truly as though you're partaking in a new dimension of a world that you know really well. So it's really an exciting place to be," he said.

His new role begins in June after the departure of current head Harry Hargrave.

"The biggest thing to do is to continue to lift up the Word of God, I think, really getting the community and I say as broadly as we can, the people who love the book, to really understand that we want them to partner with us," Campo said.

Campo brings with him a rich experience in Christian education – serving as president of Ashland University, and prior to that Regent University. On the board here at MOTB since 2015, he hopes to see American families get back to the "good book". 

"There was a time in this country's history where the Bible literally was probably the unifying factor. It was on everybody's coffee table. It was on lots of people's lips. And we actually think that'd be the pendulum swinging back that way, we do. And so that's really our hope is that we can help be a force for good in bringing God's Word back into people's homes, into their hearts, onto their lips. Because we feel that it is that thing that connects families and communities in really great ways," he said.

Not only is the museum transitioning in leadership, but in a way, it's also transitioning into a new phase. The museum just celebrated its 6th anniversary and is now a pretty established place in D.C.  Since it's not brand new anymore, what's next as the museum moves into the future?

"You know it's wonderful because this will always be the kind of place that's always looking back and looking forward. It's what a great museum does anyway, but when you're the Museum of the Bible, I mean, we've got you know, an exhibit that's called 'The Bible Now', which really shows the contemporary power of the Bible. We've got people like Brooke Ligertwood, who's coming here to sing you know, a contemporary singer in this new work that we're doing," he said. "We're going to be bringing you the latest contemporary worship leaders to our space, and even the changes that are happening in the space itself where you're going to be immersed in worship, that's going to be powerful."

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Campo tells CBN News one of his favorite aspects of the museum is its grandeur. 

"You think about the power of the Bible and what an encompassing book it is, you know, how do you house a place that really houses the Bible? And that's what it is. You walk in and you're just, your breath is taken away. So I think the grandeur and excellence is one of the things that I love about it."

As many new interactive exhibits open this year and next, Campo encourages people of all ages to come to the Museum of the Bible and get involved in what's happening here.