TROY – First Baptist dialed back two millennia Dec. 9-10 to give people a sense of what the first Christmas was like.
For the 10th year, the church held a “Journey to Bethlehem” event where more than a thousand people attended.
“It’s an outside walk-through of the night of Bethlehem. We had stations with King Herod and the wisemen, the Roman soldiers who are intimidating, the rabbis and their prophecies, the shepherds and angels, the market place, the inn where there was no room, and the manger,” explained Diane Campbell, co-coordinator of the church event said.
Groups of 30 people left on their ‘journey’ to the various stops every five minutes.
TROY – Children play on the outdoor set of the “Journey to Bethlehem” Christmas event hosted by First Baptist Church, Troy. (Photo courtesy of FBC Troy)
“We had 190 people or so in costume and about 100 people behind the scenes handling things like security, parking, props. Ninety-eight percent of the participants were from our church. It’s a great fellowship and bonding time.”
Campbell said two newborns will play baby Jesus, and some of the elder ladies, when asked about cookies months earlier, said they were already in the freezer.
“You see the body of Christ working together,” she said.
“We have a virtual barnyard. We have donkeys, sheep, goats, and chickens. One year, someone paid to have a camel present,” she added.
This was pastor Obie Dalrymple’s first experience with Journey to Bethlehem at Troy.
“We do this as an outreach and to be a blessing to the community to share the real meaning of Christmas. They experienced the Christmas story in real life experiences. We gave gospel presentations, and we’re following that up in a sermon series,” Dalrymple said.
Indeed, the need to show the reason is there.
“One year a child asked what Jesus had to do with Christmas, and the parent didn’t know,” Campbell said.
Church folk were available to talk and pray with those with questions about Jesus. After the journeys, guests received hot drinks and cookies.
She and co-coordinator Heather Lindsey begin “thinking” about the next Journey to Bethlehem in February, but active planning starts in September or October.
“Everybody can participate. People know what needs to be done. They have their vision and take ownership of their parts. People get excited about it,” she said.
Campbell said this year another 30 costumes were made. A seamstress in the congregation oversees some 30 women who check in and out costumes, which are used for other church programs, and stored in a climate-controlled environment.
“We want to be considerate of people’s time. We had only one practice. God does the rest,” Campbell said.