For many, Christmas is a time for festive lights, the smells of gingerbread and evergreen, and hours of shopping and gift-wrapping. It’s all too easy to get caught up in holiday festivities and forget the purpose behind it all: the birth of Jesus Christ.
Bethel Lutheran Church aims to bring back the reason for the season, with their sixth annual drive-through Live Nativity that will be held Dec. 8-10 from 6-8:30 p.m. each evening at 4221 Boonville Road.
“Anyone can drive through and see the mostly-live scenes, which have live animals and actors portraying the story of Jesus when he was born,” says Debbie Smith, a member at Bethel Lutheran. “We have a QR code that will connect the vocals directly to your car while you drive through the display.”
Narrations will be provided through CDs as well, with Spanish, German and Japanese translations available.
“We have stops at each scene where [the audience]will listen to the audio while watching, and then they will drive to the next scene,” Debbie explains.
The drive-through experience takes less than 15 minutes to complete and is open to the public for no cost. Although it’s not a requirement, visitors are encouraged to bring canned donations for the Brazos Food Pantry.
The site will be illuminated to guide visitors as they drive through each scene.. At the end of the experience, visitors can stop for hot chocolate, cookies and photo opportunities before head home.
Buses and relaxing attire, such as pajamas, are always welcome, Debbie says. The petting zoo and refreshments at the end are optional, but always a fan favorite, she adds.
“There’s always at least one camel at the end,” Debbie says. “We have different animals each year, but there’s always some kind of lamb and several donkeys, who are in several of the scenes. We’ve had an ostrich, a turtle and some little calves in the past as well.”
Members of the church community volunteer their time to act in the display, greet visitors, help with costumes and more.
“There’s usually at least a hundred volunteers for this,” Debbie says. “The actors take turns working for around 45 minutes to an hour before they switch. There’s all kinds of other volunteers that are behind the scenes, putting everything together.”
Debbie says the nativity should be a stress-free environment for families to enjoy while watching and listening to the story of Jesus.
“We want the community to just come and enjoy it,” Debbie says. “We’re just trying to give to the community and share Jesus.”
For more information and updates about the Live Nativity, visit the Bethel Lutheran Church website at blcbsc.org.
