NATIVITY SCENE IS GIFT TO COMMUNITY

by George Worrell
For two weekends each December, members of Columbia City Company in Lake City, Fla., present a live, drive-through Nativity scene with emphasis placed on recapturing what transpired 2,000 years ago. The special effects, lighting, and Middle Eastern costumes worn by each participant adds a sense of realism to the event. Live animals are an added attraction to enhance the program.
Members are trained to re-enact the scenes of the Nativity story, from shepherds tending their flocks in the fields at night to Mary and Joseph with the Holy Child in the Bethlehem manger. Visitors are then reminded of the imminent return of Christ as they exit the Nativity scene.
Each guest is given a gift bag containing two pieces of religious literature, a letter from the pastor with a standing invitation to visit the church, and a small, inexpensive practical gift.
The event, advertised as Visiting the Holy Land Without Leaving the Homeland, creates a feeling of adventure and excitement. Families are encouraged to come with their children. Enthralled by what they see, hear, and feel, families often drive through several times.
Columbia City Company is still a fledgling group with a small membership; however, when the call is made each year for the congregation to embark on the Nativity scene evangelistic venture, the response is overwhelmingly positive