Picture 250 children standing in line on a Sunday night to experience life in Jesus’ time. That’s what members of Spring Hill Baptist Church in Mobile recently witnessed.
With a re-enactment of a Judean marketplace complete with Jesus and His followers, the children’s ministry at Spring Hill offered a glimpse of life when Jesus walked the earth.
“It was just an incredible experience,” said Spring Hill Children’s Minister Pat Lee. “We’ll live on this for a long time.”
Lee said the church’s children’s ministry has worked for two years to create this setting based on the “Christ’s Chosen, Marketplace 29 a.d.” curriculum written by Betty Goetz.
Lee said it was a churchwide effort to build the set and staff it with shopkeepers and family leaders. Approximately 140 adults including members of other churches were on site as part of the marketplace staff. Even Spring Hill Pastor Terry Ellis got in on the action, dressing in period costume to teach the children.
Lee said church members invested more than 5,000 hours of volunteer labor and $10,000 in the project. Members began building the set Feb. 19 and opened for business April 30–May 2.
Children and adults, dressed in costumes from that time period, created an entire Judean market assembled under a 60- by-120-foot tent, with more than 20 family tents surrounding the big tent.
“I thought this would be a very good way to make the Bible stories become 3-D for our children. Sunday School won’t be routine anymore,” said Lee.
The interactive experience gave children a chance to learn about many of the trades and shops found in a market in 27–29 a.d., while bringing the stories of Jesus to life.
They made fishnets, did masonry, made a piece of pottery or a basket, refinished a fishing boat, tried their hand at woodworking, smelled bread baking in the bakery and made purchases in produce shops or spice/herb shops.
As the children, dressed in authentic costumes, came into the market with their family leaders, they paid taxes to the tax collector and met the census taker.
They met storytellers, Roman soldiers, a beggar and shepherds with animals. They also heard Zaccheus’ story.
Family leaders helped children to learn about some of the traditions of the Jewish families and why there should be a great regard for the Scripture and the Jewish heritage.
Shopkeepers showed children how their crafts were made in Jesus’ day, but they didn’t just talk about their crafts. They shared experiences of witnessing the works of Jesus or being one of the 5,000 who were fed with two fish and five loaves of bread.
Lee said the experience “made us feel as though we were living among Jesus’ friends and family.”
In the midst of all the activity, actors playing Jesus and His friends passed through the market and began re-enacting some of the New Testament stories.
“The guy who played Jesus was just incredible,” Lee said. “Even though the children knew he was an actor, they believed him. ‘Jesus’ even worked on items in the carpentry and woodworking shop and made fishing nets with one group.”
Lee said their goal was to make the experience as authentic as possible. More than 400 feet of walls were created to look like they were made of brick and plaster.
Water was dipped with gourds from the well in the center of the market. Church members even made cups out of brown origami paper.
Lee said the impact of the marketplace was even greater than she had hoped. “I got up on a bench to look over the crowd to see [the actor playing] Jesus doing His drama.
“When I looked at the set with the people all in costumes, I got a sense that it was really like it was in those days,” she said. “You felt like you were living it.”
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