What a story it must have made for generations to come. I imagine as time went on, the family would talk about when great grandad was a boy, he shared his five loaves and two fishes with Jesus and 5,000 people where fed! A seemingly ordinary kid (albeit exceptionally well prepared to avoid missing a meal) just gave Jesus what he had and the miracle of multiplication nourished and satisfied a multitude. He brought what he had; God did the rest.
In 2020 due to lockdowns across Melbourne, “Road to Bethlehem: Like You’ve Never Seen It Before” went online as an innovative alternative to the much loved walk-through Nativity experience. When it became clear that 2021 would also be affected by pandemic restrictions, this year’s “Road to Bethlehem: A Month on the Road” went online for the second time in it’s 27-year history.
At the heart of this ministry is a committed army of volunteers that brings the story of Jesus birth to life. The Holy Spirit led as groups met and an idea was created to provide a daily video for the 31 days of December – each day themed to be enjoyed along with the books “Advent” (by Nathan Brown) and the recently published “Advent for Kids” (by Karen Collum and Nathan Brown). Teams of volunteers wrote interesting daily emails, beautiful social media posts, recorded engaging videos and sent free gifts into Victorian homes. All efforts focused on sharing why Jesus came as a humble baby and to extend the hospitality and invitation that the first coming of Jesus offered our world.
Some statistics from “A Month on the Road”:
• Over 730 gifts sent directly to Victorian homes for free, including copies of the books Advent, Advent for Kids and bible verse magnets.
• Around 60,000 emails sent to guests with daily messages through the month of December.
• 4,732 unique visitors from over 50 countries. 85% from Aus but hundreds from the USA and scores from NZ, South Korea, UK, Ireland, Canada, Singapore and more. (A visitor is a ‘device’ so for example my family watched together, all five of us but we count as one visitor to the website)
• Every day we had between 400-1000 page views on our site, that’s hundreds of visitors per day, enjoying the days message and browsing the kid’s area and other resources.
For me, it’s so encouraging to see the many talents and skills required to make Road to Bethlehem come together under the leading of the Holy Spirit each year. This year was no different. Each one bringing our five loaves and two fishes, God doing the rest.
If you haven’t experienced this years Road to Bethlehem, all videos are still available to view now at https://roadtobethlehem.org/
2021 Acknowledgements
Website/Graphic Design/CRM: Shane Winfield, Cameron Gilroy // Content: Moe Stiles, Mirek Stekla, Tony Knight, Stacey Panozzo (Comittee Secretary), Nathan Hall (Interim Commttee Chair) // Host: Kym Piez // Communications: Nathan Brown, Rebecca Gallagher, Allanah Howard-Bath, Sarah Courtney, Haylee Fairall // Gifting: Carlie Williamson, Joanne Challinor-Rogers, Elisa Fox, Lesley Clark, Haylee Fairall, Shelley Fairall, Carolyn Hunger, Jane Smith, Jo Shorney, Trish Shorney, Victorian Conference Office Staff // Post Production & Editing: David Fleming, Kaelan Woodward // Web Hosting: Cameron Gilroy (Celestia Designs) // Video Contributors: Andrew and Lorraine Wegener, Jamie Stanley, Brendan Pratt, Ryan and Emma Vidot, David Egren, Velda Mason, Liz Borgas, Joshua Stadnik, Karen Horsley, Tiani Page, Carolin Schmitz, Simone Austen, Chris Rantall, Fraser Catton, Shari, Eunuch, Andre and Asher Nyatanga, Karen Collum, Nathan Brown, Burwood Church Musicians & Singers, Wantirna Church Musicians and Singers, Dandenong Polish Church ADRA video and all the Vox Pop interview kids!
Nathan Hall
