TROY – The “Journey to Bethlehem” walk through nativity at First Baptist Church here had 1,700 people tour the village of Bethlehem last year. Coordinators Heather Lindsay and Diane Campbell said they expect about that many this year, and they have added some new features to the walk-through dramatic reenactment of the first Christmas.
The outdoor walk is set up around the church property with guides taking participants through various encounters with people who would have been on the road to Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth.
People assemble and are taken through in groups of 25. The first stop is at a mapmaker’s hut to get their traveling papers to go to the ancestral home of Bethlehem. They are required to show these papers to Roman soldiers on horseback who check them along the way. When they get past the intimidating soldiers, they encounter wise men who are having a conversation with King Herod about this “new king” whom they have heard about. Herod is inquisitive and wants to know more.
Then they encounter families along the way who are all abuzz talking about this King they have heard has been born in Bethlehem.
They find angels and shepherds out in the edge of the field giving glory to God for the newborn King. Then guides take the people on toward the village. They narrate the events as they go.
The stop at the tax collector’s stand is designed to be intimidating as the tax collectors harass people for a census tax. Fortunately the guides have a pocket bag of money and pay the coins. There is a village set up which has merchants selling bread, meats, fish and stew cooking over an open fire. The innkeeper is brusque as he tells people impatiently he has no more room in the inn.
The guides then take people into the manger scene where Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus are admired by the onlookers.
Campbell says it is a culmination of the walk, and from there they are led upstairs to the church where questions are answered and prayers are offered. They provide hot chocolate and homemade cookies to all who come through.
She said it is a wonderful experience, and they encourage people from all over their community to come and tour the walk-through journey. It is pitched toward young families with lots of sensory experiences, live animals, food cooking, sounds and experiences that the people would have seen in Bethlehem that first Christmas eve.
The Chamber of Commerce in Troy offered free advertisement of the event, and people from all over the community attend.
They share the gospel. Last year a child was overheard to say, “Mom, what does Jesus have to do with Christmas?” The mother replied, “I don’t know.”
That gave volunteers the opportunity to explain the story of Jesus to the family and show them that Jesus is central to the Christmas story.