Road to Bethlehem

Over the next two weeks, parks, schools and camp grounds across Australia will be transformed into the ancient streets of Bethlehem as part of a live, moving drama depicting the Christmas story. Camels and sheep, shepherds, wise men, roman soldiers and even a ‘baby Jesus’ will share these spaces with more than 20,000 visitors across six locations.

Road to Bethlehem is a live tour of the Christmas story which starts at the ‘Jerusalem Market’ where entry is guarded by the ‘tax collectors’ who request a gold coin donation. Journeying through the various scenes takes about an hour and finishes in the manger with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. As members of the public are taken to meet the newborn King, they’re encouraged to experience the Christmas story afresh.

The live drama is an initiative of the Adventist church in Australia, and began in the Melbourne suburb of Nunawading 19 years ago. Since then, the concept has since spread to WA, NSW, QLD and even New Zealand. All the actors are regular Australians, from IT consultants and plumbers, to teachers, Mums, Dads and grandparents who give up their time to become a part of the massive production.

With 30 sub-committees responsible for things ranging from animal handling to hot dog making, Melbourne’s Road to Bethlehem is a huge undertaking. Just last year they had 15,000 people walk through the live drama across four nights.

Incredibly, the entrance price is free at every event so that as many people can experience the Christmas story as possible. And at the end of the tour, visitors are invited into the prayer tent where they can be prayed for by a member of the church. Spokesperson for the event in Melbourne, Simone Misfud started going to Nunawading Adventist Church 12 years ago and says it’s unlike any other outreach she’s done.

“We don’t often see the fruits of our labour because people go back out into the community, but we pray that some come to Christ. We don’t always see that first hand. But I do believe that that is happening in people’s lives,” says Simone.

Putting on a live production with so many volunteers and such a reliance on technology can create great obstacles to overcome. Simone recalls what happened last year when baby Jesus didn’t turn up one night.

“Shelley who looks after our babies didn’t panic. She’d been praying about it, and she walked out into the audience and found a newborn baby in the audience and asked if they would kindly allow her to use their child for the road to Bethlehem scene. They were so excited and it came off beautifully. God provides.”

She says God has also provided for them financially to put on the production.

“It’s a real test of faith and courage from our point of view because we don’t have a budget. We know what it’s going to cost us to put this on every year, and we just rely solely on donations and we just have to pray that that money comes in each year and it always does.”

Planning for the event in Melbourne begins in January of the year before—the volunteers have a month off before meeting together to gather feedback and plan for the year ahead. Such a demanding production might force other churches to put it on every few years, but not this one. Simone says the impact of the experience on people’s lives is what motivates them to keep doing it each year.

“I walked through last night with a person who’d never been through before and it was really special to see it through somebody’s eyes who’d never been through before—there were lots of tears and emotion. It’s really lovely to see how the production moves people. Even to see from a kid’s point of view that they’re getting to experience and know Jesus through this production too, it’s really special.”

Tickets for the Melbourne sessions this week have sold out, but there are 300 places on offer at the door each night. Meanwhile there are shows in Erina on the Central Coast of NSW, Livingston WA, Brisbane QLD, Christchurch and Tauranga NZ. www.roadtobethlehem.org