The Walk Through Bethlehem event at Bethel Baptist Church in Robertsdale kicks off tomorrow night (Dec. 12), and Pastor Harvey Earls said they’ve “built the town of Bethlehem as much as it could possibly be recreated.”
At the event, groups of 15 to 30 are guided by a “shepherd” through scenes set up around the church campus as they search for the newborn Jesus. This year’s Walk Through Bethlehem runs Dec. 12-14 from 6-8 p.m., and the Bethel Baptist congregation is preparing 3,000 homemade cookies and cups of hot chocolate to serve their guests.
“It’s a pretty massive all-church affair,” he said. “Our church runs about 200, and we usually have 2 or 3,000 who come for Walk Through Bethlehem. Since we’ve been doing it for so many years, it’s become part of the local community’s Christmas traditions.”
The church started the event in 2004 but took some time off after sustaining hurricane damage several years back. Earls said he thinks they’ve probably put Walk Through Bethlehem on 16 or 17 times, but last year, they reworked the “town” layout to better accommodate the growing crowds.
Earls also now puts on a piano concert in the sanctuary for those who are waiting for their entrance time.
“We’ve had to be creative in how we use our facilities,” he said. “Our sanctuary seats about 175, and we have 600-800 people on campus on the nights we hold Walk Through Bethlehem.”
All of the scenes are staffed with volunteer actors from Bethel Baptist, and the experience ends at the cross with a gospel presentation.
“It takes our whole church body, even if they can’t be a part of it on the weekend, they’ve made cookies or prayed or done outreach,” Earls said.
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