Photo provided A portion of the staging for Bethel Holiness Church’s drive-thru Nativity is shown.
Over 70 volunteers from Bethel Holiness Church are working together to bring the story of Christmas to life. For the first time in the church’s history, visitors will soon be able to drive-thru the Christmas Nativity viewing four scenes with a recorded narration.
The event will be held Dec. 13 and 14 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bethel Holiness Church. It is free to attend.
Lifelong Bethel Holiness Church member Karen Walden originally came up with the idea to do a Nativity event, as she believes it is a way to reach out and do something for the community. As Bethel Holiness Church sits on 17 acres of land, she also believes the church has the perfect location to do something of this size.
“… we have some friends that live in Burlington, Kentucky and their church has done it,” Walden said. “So, back in January of this year we contacted them and started talking to them and brainstorming and actually went over to their house and they showed us some of their props and things to get ideas. They shared all their ideas with us to get us going and that’s kind of where it began.”
The event will take visitors through the story of Jesus’s birth through four scenes. Visitors will enter through the church’s main driveway on the left, which will be illuminated with white lights. All narration is pre-recorded, broadcast through a certain radio station visitors are instructed to tune into, and will be acted out by 29 actors.
“… we have a total of 77 volunteers helping,” Walden said. ”So there’s 29 actors but there’s 77 people that are involved helping.”
The scenes will also feature some live animals, including sheep, goats and miniature donkeys, who will also be accompanied by their owners during the event. Walden said these animals come courtesy of one of her cousins and a coworker. Hot chocolate and cookies will also be handed out to visitors.
Sheila Thompson, another lifelong member of Bethel Holiness Church, along with a few other church members, have been working off and on for a couple months to create costumes for the angels, wise men and other cast members. Her husband Bob has also created a few props and backdrops for the production.
“It’s going to take everybody to help to make this a success, especially when it comes right down to the time for it to happen,” Thompson said. “There’s some ladies… they’re giving hot chocolate and cookies and it’s going to take several ladies to prepare that, we have no idea how many people are coming so you don’t know how to prepare. And so we have to be prepared for a crowd whether we have a crowd or not, but we’re hoping for a large turnout.”
Though she’s been involved in Christmas programs before, Thompson said she has never participated in something like this before, but she’s looking forward to driving through it and seeing it herself. Like Thompson, Walden also hopes they see a large turnout at the event, but above all, Walden hopes visitors learn the true meaning of Christmas through it.
“I hope that we can reach people for Jesus, that they can listen to the message and become saved. People that are not Christians can get saved and come to know him and that it touches their hearts,” Walden said.
