WACO, Texas--Southern Baptist pastor Jeff Wyers sees his role as a 17th century autocratic governor in the PBS series "Colonial House" as a witness for God, according to Baptist Press.

The new reality show follows three popular PBS series that place people in a historical environment. Wyers' family watched the 2002 series "Frontier House," which is set in 19th century Montana, and expressed interest in working on a similar project.

"We could so do that," Tammy Wyers recalled saying. "Those people are such crybabies!" It was while she was on the PBS website looking for the next airing of Frontier House that she came across the application form for the Colonial House experiment. The new project will have an entire colony of up to 26 people living in 1628 Maine under Puritan law.

The family hoped to be chosen for the show because of the opportunity to live out their Christian faith in front of millions of viewers.

Jeff, 47, is pastor of Community Baptist Church in Waco and teaches history, health and Bible at Texas Christian Academy where his children attend school. He also conducts creation science seminars. Tammy, 44, is a homemaker.

When the family was chosen for Colonial House, they asked their church for its blessing. The Wyers said nearly all of the congregation responded positively, encouraging the family to take the opportunity to positively portray Christians on television.

The Wyerses told the producers that their Christian faith was a part of their everyday life. Tammy recalled saying, "It is not our intent to brow beat. But you have to know God is not reserved for Sundays."

That testimony became obvious when a real-life accident unfolded for the familiy as their daughter Bethany's fiancé, 19-year-old Caleb Morgan, was killed in a traffic accident and the Wyerses' son, Jeff Jr., was seriously injured.

The family took a leave of absence from the taping but did finish the project eventually.

"We feel so privileged. This was nothing we chose," Tammy said from her Waco home. "We are a family who went through a tragedy and leaned on God … and that was God's plan."