Norman Park church shows glimpse of the world of Jesus' birth

Dec. 3—NORMAN PARK, Ga. — Two thousand years ago, give or take a bit, a child was born in a stable in a small town in what's now Israel, and he grew up to change the world.

Jesus, the first-born son of Joseph of Nazareth and his wife, Mary, started a religious movement that now has 2.2 billion adherents around the world. Many countries measure time from the year in which he was believed to have been born.

First Baptist Church of Norman Park will offer visitors the chance to step back in time two millennia with its performance of "Return to Bethlehem." Church members will take on the roles of Joseph, Mary, the Wise Men, shepherds and others in the Christmas Story. The church's environs will become scenes from the biblical description of Jesus' birth. Performances will start at 6 p.m. Dec. 16-18.

The Rev. Jody Jordan, pastor of First Baptist, said the congregation wanted to share "our interpretation of what we thought Christmas is really about."

The church first performed "Return to Bethlehem" in 2006, according to a Moultrie Observer story from that time, but it's been held in some years and not in others. Jordan said he's been at the church five years and last year's event was the first time he'd participated.

That event drew a few hundred visitors a night for three nights — maybe a thousand or more overall, he estimated.

Scheduling those visitors is a challenge for this year's event. The visitors are divided into tour groups, which are led through the scenes by guides, but Jordan said that last year's groups spent a lot of time waiting for their turn to leave the church's fellowship hall.

That challenge was one of the focuses as this year's planning began early in the fall.

"We don't want folks waiting long," Jordan said. "We want to make them as comfortable as we can."

Between 50 and 60 people have signed up to be in the scenes, Jordan said, but others in the congregation will participate behind the scenes too.

Jordan, who visited Bethlehem about four years ago, said Norman Park looks nothing like the Holy Land, but he hopes visitors will get a blessing from the church's "South Georgia version" of the timeless story.

"We're thankful to be part of something that's bigger than us," he said.