One Night in Bethlehem opening soon

Like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle, the village of Bethlehem lies in stacks of lettered and numbered wooden panels in the park area of First Baptist Church in Thomson. Soon those pieces will be reassembled to recreate "One Night in Bethlehem." The drive-through living nativity will be open on Tuesday through Thursday, December 11, 12, and 13, from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. each evening. Admission is free and open to the public. The only entrance to the Nativity is from the Warrenton Highway (GA 17).

"One Night in Bethlehem" uses over eighty actors appearing in ten individual scenes to depict the story of the birth of Jesus. As visitors drive from scene to scene, they are drawn by Scripture-based narration into the wonderful story of that long-ago night. Background music and the glow of firelight help to create a sense of the time and place. A variety of live animals - llamas, donkeys, sheep, and goats - help to complete the sense of reality.

This is the eighth annual presenta- tion of "One Night in Bethlehem," an event which has grown with each passing year. A record numbers of guests visited the Nativity last year. A total of 722 vehicles carrying 2259 guests came through on the three nights.

"We had such a wonderful response last year, the biggest yet," said Mogish. "In fact at one point, the line of cars was backed up all the way through town and as far as the Methodist Church."

The increase in guests has led Nativity planners to work with the Thomson police to create a slightly different traffic pattern for the 2007 Nativity. The entrance will still be from the Warrenton Highway but at a point farther west. According to Mogish, guests should have no trouble in following the bright red and white signs that mark the Nativity traffic pattern.

For the First Baptist family, "One Night in Bethlehem" has become their Christmas gift to the community. Some church members eagerly sign up for cast parts, while others volunteer to work with everything from construction or costumes to food preparation or traffic direction. Even some senior adults who otherwise might not be able to work on the Nativity are part of a Nativity Prayer Team.

"This is truly a church-wide effort," said Nativity Coordinator Kathie Mogish. "There are ways in which almost every church member can be involved. It's exciting to watch so many people involve themselves to help bring this to life each year. We really do think of this as our Christmas gift to everyone who drives through."

The First Baptist family takes the Nativity very seriously as an outreach effort. Before the cast goes out each night onto the Nativity set, FBC pastor Dr. Jim Ramsey reminds everyone that this could be the night that someone who has never heard the story of Jesus Christ will hear it for the first time.

"That's an important consideration for us as a church family," commented Mogish. "We're very conscious of the fact that we're telling the story of God's greatest gift to the world, the gift of salvation. And that's a gift that not everyone has accepted. If we help lead someone closer to that gift, then every minute of work that we've put into the Nativity has been more than worth the effort."

Although no new scenes have been added to the Nativity for this year, there will be a few new elements. As guests enter the Nativity area they will receive a booklet describing each scene. Also, children ages three through eight will be given a book titled "One Night in Bethlehem." The actor playing a Roman Centurion will ask guests to actually fill out a "census card," and these cards will be used in a drawing for a special gift each evening.

Guests from the Thomson/ McDuffie area and surrounding counties are invited to share the joy of the story of Christ's birth with the First Baptist family.