The Hayride Through the Life of Christ has become a Christmas tradition for families throughout the CSRA. Not only do guests get to see the re-enactment of the true meaning of Christmas, there’s also live music, hot chocolate, and other fun activities for kids.
“Sharon Baptist Church has been organizing the Hayride for twenty-one years. We started in a hayfield on Highway 221 before the Lord provided us with the Columbia County Fairgrounds,” says Pastor Andy Collins. In 2001, at the very first hayride, 511 people attended. The Sharon Baptist Church family was overjoyed at the amount of people they shared the story of Jesus with. Little did they know that this would become such a popular Christmas event for families in the CSRA and they would share Jesus with tens of thousands of people. “God continued to provide for the Hayride, and it became more popular. The highest we’ve ever had was around 5,500 people,” says Pastor Andy.
Before boarding on the hayride, you get to walk through the streets of Bethlehem and see what it was like for Mary and Joseph trying to find a place to stay. Once you board the trailer, you will be shown eleven different scenes and watch the story of Jesus’s life be told. “We made a commitment the first year that if we showed the birth, life, and death of Christ, then we would show His resurrection because we want people to know that we serve a risen Savior. We also want people to know that it’s more than just a story; it’s a relationship, so we added the testimonial,” says Pastor Andy. At the end of the Hayride, you will hear from a member of Sharon Baptist Church as they share their personal testimony.
“It takes everyone in our church family. Whether they are directing traffic, serving hot chocolate, preparing meals for the characters, working in the kids corner, playing live music, driving a tractor, or playing a character,” Pastor Andy shares. Every night over 100 members of Sharon Baptist Church can be found serving. “I get to spend that week with my church family for hours each night, and I believe the hayride is a gift that God gave us. As a church, we will eat together every night and I think there’s a fellowship and a purpose during the week of the play that’s hard to replicate,” he continues.
The Hayride Through the Life of Christ is free to attend and will be on December 8th through the 11th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. The members of Sharon Baptist Church are excited to see you and would like to say “dress warm and bring a friend!” If you are seeking a church family, Sharon Baptist Church would like to welcome you to their campus. Sunday School starts at 9:45am and Sunday morning service starts at 11am. They are located at 6262 Cobbham Road, Appling, GA 30802. For more information, visit www.sharonlife.org or call (706)541-0667.
