By Jessica Isaacs | jessica@highcountrypress.com
Photos by Ken Ketchie
This year’s downtown Boone Christmas parade featured a new collaboration from local churches reminding us that Jesus is the reason for the season.
Placed within the parade lineup on Saturday were six floats that together shared the message of the gospel, each one depicting a different Bible story. The series of Bible floats was a project of the Three Forks Baptist Association’s Bethlehem and Beyond program.
“The idea came from the Lord,” said Kandy Taylor, a member of Perkinsville Baptist Church. “He wants us to tell his story and his story is unconditional love.”
Church members not only worked together to plan, build and orchestrate floats for the storyline, but they also showed up in droves to act as characters and ride along in the parade.
Participating churches included:
- Perkinsville Baptist Church depicting The Creation and Fall of Man
- Poplar Grove Baptist Church depicting The Parting of the Red Sea
- Mt. Vernon Baptist Church depicting The Nativity, Wise Men and Shepherds
- Clark’s Creek Baptist Church depicting The Life and Ministry of Christ
- Brushy Fork Baptist Church depicting The Crucifixion and Resurrection
Taylor said the Bible float series was designed to reach people in the Boone community with the message of the gospel and the story of Christ’s ultimate gift to the children of God. The team was met with overwhelming support in making the float series possible, including a large number of new folks from outside the church communities who showed up to be part of the parade on Saturday morning.
How did the floats fit into the association’s overall mission of Bethlehem and Beyond?
“Unity. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are called to love one another and embrace one another and uplift one another, and by working together on a common mission, a common message, that creates unity,” Taylor said. “You work through problems that come up. You meet people you’ve not met before. You get to worship in a whole, totally different way than you ever have.”
The Three Forks Baptist Association has a lot in store for the future of its Bethlehem and Beyond program. If you’re interested in being involved in any projects or events, contact the association at 828-264-4482 or visit 3forksassoc.org.
“We want to share God’s story, and God’s story is continuing,” said Taylor. “Everybody is invited to be a part of that story.”
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