Iola’s Harvest Baptist Church members brought the story of Easter to the community Wednesday afternoon, with a live retelling of Christ’s crucifixion.
Church member Zach Louk portrayed Jesus on the cross between two other crucified “malefactors,” fellow churchgoers Travis Wanker and Drake Matthew.
Each of the three were perched atop small platforms on three crosses built by church member Mike Endicott, grasping large nails with each arm. Their robes were splattered, not with blood, but with colored corn syrup.
A number of church members donned period costumes to portray guards and spectators, with soft music playing in the background.
The display in front of the church at 2001 N. State St., drew plenty of attention.
Several passing motorists slowed or stopped their cars altogether, to see the display. A few pulled out their phones to snap photos.
More than a handful pulled into the parking lot to watch as well.
Then, at about sunset, the focus shifted to a nearby “tomb” to depict where Jesus’s body was taken after the crucifixion. The tomb will be sealed until Sunday morning, likely prior to the 10:30 service, at which point it will be opened and revealed as empty, as the Bible tells of Christ’s resurrection.
“We want to get people thinking, ‘This isn’t about the Easter Bunny,’” Harvest Baptist pastor Tony Godfrey explained. “We just want to get the gospel out to as many people as possible. We thought a living Easter story would be a great way to accomplish that.”
The idea came from a team led by worshiper Dana Endicott, who had read about another church doing a live Easter retelling.
“We’re very happy with how it went,” Endicott said afterward. “We had lots of people stop by to see it.”
“All the credit goes to the creative team who came up with this,” Godfrey said. “We wanted to take it slow, and learn from things. They already have ideas for next year. This year was to get us started, and make an impact for people driving by. It’s pretty exciting. It was quite an undertaking.”
HARVEST Baptist’s attendance has remained strong since it moved to the old Country Lanes building in 2019, even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move required a herculean effort to convert the old bowling alley into a place of worship.
The sanctuary fills much of the area formerly holding the bowling lanes. In fact, the doors into the sanctuary align perfectly with the bowling alley’s foul lines, Godfrey said.
The old pro shop, meanwhile, now is the nursery. Locker rooms were converted into a kitchen area. Classrooms were built within the north side of the building.
