Columbus, Ohio, USA

From left: Pentecostal serpent-handling pastors Micah Golden, 21, and Andrew Hamblin, 20, handle rattlesnakes during a worship service at Andrew's church in La Follette, Tennessee, on December 31, 2011. Andrew opened the Tabernacle Church of God in November 2011. At a time when many mainstream Protestant churches are losing their younger members, Andrew's church is doing well, and has attracted a sizable group of parishioners in their 20s and 30s. Some of them, including Micah, first learned about serpent-handling through social media.
Serpent boxes line the pulpit during a Homecoming worship service at Andrew's church in May 2012. The service drew parishioners from neighboring states, including West Virginia and Kentucky.
Parishioners rush the pulpit to pray for Andrew, who had been struck by a snake on his finger on January 1, 2012. Although Andrew had nearly died from a previous bite and had to be airlifted to a hospital, he did not seek medical attention for this particular bite, and, instead, chose to entrust his recovery to God. He appeared to be sick to his stomach, but his health improved within about 90 minutes. "As long as you don't get afraid, you're okay," he said later in an interview.
Parishioners wait for Andrew to recovery from the snakebite he received during a worship service at his church on January 1, 2012.
Andrew waits by his overheated minivan on the way to church in November 2011. Andrew was raised by his grandparents in a Free Will Baptist church, and was not born into the Signs Following tradition. At age 13, Andrew became a professional banjo player, and soon found himself mixed up with alcohol and drugs. After he became a father at the age of 15, he decided he wanted to change, and adopted the conservative Pentecostal Holiness lifestyle.
Andrew and members of his church eat dinner at a McDonald's after a worship service in May 2012. Outside of church, Andrew and his family try to avoid corruptive "worldly" influences, the young pastor said: "You're not going to catch us in the middle of Hooters."
Andrew takes a phone call while sitting in his living room on March 29, 2012, his 21st birthday. Andrew saw serpent-handling for the first time while watching television. "I thought, 'My Lord, I'd love to see that in person. I would love to see what that is really like," he said during an interview. Andrew began handling venomous snakes in 2009, under the guidance of Kentucky serpent-handling pastor Jamie Coots.
Elizabeth Hamblin pushes her twin sons, Caydon and Clayton, on the swings behind her and Andrew's apartment in La Follette, Tennessee, in May 2013.
The bumper of a car parked outside of Andrew's church in May 2012.
Cody Wynn, 26, right, and Adam Ray, 20, left, roughhouse with Andrew and attempt to throw him into the water at Cove Lake State Park, following a church picnic in May 2012. The majority of people who attend Andrew's church are under 30, and many of them have had problems with drugs, the pastor said. "When you're not saved, and you're a sinner man or woman, there's an empty space in your life," Andrew said. "The Lord fills that empty space in their heart."
Andrew exits the basement of his church, where he stores venomous snakes, in March 2012. Like some of the members of his church, Andrew comes from a troubled past, and says he got involved with serpent handling as a means of changing his life.
Andrew and Elizabeth watch old church services with Daniel Powers, left, and Charley Powers, right, after an evening prayer meeting on January 1, 2013. Members of Andrew's church something "backslide" into drugs and the ways of their former lives. Andrew described the feeling of being anointed by the Holy Spirit and handling serpents as a kind of spiritual "high": "It's an out-of-this-world experience," he said. "It was better than any pill I ever took or anytime I ever drunk anything."
Brance Powers, 2, plays with toy snakes that his mother, Kasi Powers, 21, gave him to play with at their home in Duff, Tennessee, in March 2012. Kasi and her husband, Daniel, regularly attend Andrew's church. Although Andrew says he does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to handle venomous snakes, children can often be seen playing with rubber snakes in the pews.
Elizabeth Hamblin, 21, Andrew's wife, adjusts a copy of the Lord's Prayer next to a portrait of her and her husband. She and Andrew were married in 2009, and have five children.
Silas Crawford speaks to Andrew during a worship service at Andrew's church in May 2012. Having grown up in a musically inclined family and worked as a professional banjo player, Andrew often ignites worship services with an energetic performance on his guitar.
From left: Kasi Powers, Daniel Powers, Andrew Hamblin, Mike Morris, Kendra Morris, Elizabeth Hamblin, and another parishioner conclude an evening prayer service at Andrew's Tabernacle Church of God in La Follette, Tennessee, on January 1, 2013.
Holding a pile of venomous copperhead snakes, Andrew prays for Kasi Powers during a worship service at his church in May 2013.
Mascara trickles down the cheeks of Kayla Shoupes, 18, as she participates in a worship service at Andrew's church in March 2012. Most traditional Pentecostal Holiness women do not believe in wearing make-up or cutting their hair.
Gabriel Wynn, 1, plays with a rubber snake after a worship service at Andrew's church in May 2012.

Millennial Signs Followers

Pentecostal serpent handlers have taken up venomous snakes during their worship services since the early 1900s. However, this century-old religious tradition now has a millennial wave of followers in Appalachia. At the Tabernacle Church of God in La Follette, Tennessee, young Pastor Andrew Hamblin led a millennial generation of serpent-handlers in their 20s and 30s.

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