Stories of the Savior

For the surrounding churches of Pine Prairie there is no better way to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ than by sharing the story of their Savior’s entire life with everyone in the small community.
From Christ’s humble beginning in a manger to his ascension into the kingdom of Heaven, this once a year two-night event, is something these local churches have come to call Community Christmas.
Community Christmas, which will be held on December 4 and 5 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., began after one of Pine Prairie’s local pastors felt inspired by a well-known Christian leader from the community.
First Baptist Church of Pine Prairie Pastor Keith Sheridan said, “When I moved here from south Louisiana and heard from people about how much good Father Leslie Prescott had done here with things like starting the Boggy Bayou Festival and how he was such a magnet for bringing different churches together, I knew we could continue doing that kind of work by starting Community Christmas.”
Ironically enough, the fair grounds used to host the festival that Prescott began years ago in Pine Prairie is now also used as the main stage to tell the story of Christ.
The Community Christmas production, according to Brother Keith, “is a lot of work to put on.” The amount of work it takes, though, has led to a total of 10 churches from the Pine Prairie area coming together to make this event happen.
One of those churches, which have been taking part in Community Christmas since its start four years ago, is Christian Tabernacle.
Christian Tabernacle Pastor Barry Gautreaux, who will be a narrator for the event, said, “Our nation is at such a bad time right now that this is the kind of thing that we need to help bring Christians together and unify us all.”
This will be the third year that Community Christmas has been held, after being canceled one year because of the weather, and with each year the event has grown larger. Instead of offering nine scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, the 10 local churches have worked to add two new scenes from Jesus’ life for the public to enjoy at this year’s event.
As a visitor to the free event you will enjoy a trailer ride through an open field while you watch live scene depictions of Christ’s life as they are narrated by Pine Prairie’s local pastors. Along with hearing the story of Christ, the event also offers people the chance to remember the reason for the season.
Brother Keith said, “When it comes to the people that attend Community Christmas, for them this event offers them a chance to get away from all of the Black Friday craziness that seems to start at the beginning of November these days. People can get refocused on what matters and they get to have a lot fun too.”
Along with enjoying a ride through the fair grounds, visitors at the event can also look forward to cookies, hot chocolate, Christmas carolling from Christian Tabernacle Youth Choir, gumbo, fun jumps, face painting, and live animals.
However, even with the extra games and food that will be available to the public at the third annual Community Christmas, there is something else that makes this night so special.
Brother Barry said, “The greatest thing about Community Christmas, and the most important thing, is the fact that we are getting to share the Gospel, the life of Jesus Christ, with our community.”