Since the beginning of October, the Gladstone Park grounds have been transforming into a familiar setting. Volunteers from near and far have been hard at work on the much-anticipated annual walkthrough nativity event, Follow the Star.

Each year, thousands of our neighbors reconnect with the story of Jesus as they and their families spend an evening walking through the bustling streets of Bethlehem, stand in the courtyard of Herod’s palace, and witness the live angel choir as it announces Jesus’ birth. What many may not know is what it takes to make Follow the Star happen.

Nate Hellman, from the Oregon Conference Ministerial department, served as pastor of the Gladstone Park Adventist Church and has continued to work with the event. He shared that it takes over 100 volunteers to make Follow the Star possible. There are the roles most people see, like reenactors, greeters, and singers in the angel choir, but there are also so many people helping behind the scenes, too, that provide the organization and support necessary for each night to be successful. “The construction team pours their blood, sweat, and tears into the set pieces. Each scene has a coordinator that recruits and trains volunteer actors. There are ticketing teams and organizational teams that ensure everything flows well once the show starts. Every single role is vital to making Follow the Star happen, and together we all have a single goal: to lift up and share the good news of our Messiah, Jesus.”

Some volunteers have been coming back for over a decade now – and others even longer! “My husband started helping out with Follow the Star when he was maybe 11 or 12 years old. When we moved back to the area he told me, ‘You’ve got to be part of this, it’s so much fun!’ So, I signed up that year to be part of the angel choir,” shared April Burville, who has now volunteered alongside her family for nearly 15 years. “I’ve known a lot of the kids that volunteer now since they were little. Seeing them now as beggars in Bethlehem or shepherds or guards, it’s just really cool to be part of something like this for a long time and to see so many members of our Adventist community come together to be part of this when we may not see each other that much during the year. A lot of us go to different churches, but this time of year we get to come back together and catch up. It’s just a really beautiful thing to be part of in addition to giving a gift to this community by inviting them to come experience the nativity story.”

Other volunteers are joining the crew for the first time this year. Barbara Thomas, whose husband used to volunteer as part of the temple scene, is joining the team for the first time. “When my husband was volunteering, I always felt bad, like this should be something we did together. But I’m not a theatrical person, so that wasn’t something I was interested in. Up until this year I didn’t think there was anywhere that really fit for me, but I’ve always appreciated everybody who was helping. A month or so ago I got a call from Pastor Eddie, who served at our church for a long time. There was a woman who had been managing all of the costumes who wanted to retire, and he asked if I would be interested in taking it over. She had been making sure they were all cleaned and tagged so they could be checked out, checked back in, repaired, and replaced if needed. My background is in sewing – we owned a sewing quilt shop and I’ve been in the business for 30 years. I have every piece of equipment needed for anything you would want to make, so that is my forte. When I was asked to do that, I thought, ‘This is something I know. Now I can help out. God has provided a way.’ So here we are today!” Barbara also shared her vision for updating much of the well-worn wardrobe as Follow the Star moves forward in the coming years.

“You would not believe the volunteer possibilities here if you want to be involved,” said Barbara, “I had no idea that there were so many things going on behind the scenes. There are ticket takers that work inside in the Holden Center. If anyone is musically inclined or willing to read scripture, they have things running indoors for people while they wait. There are people preparing food for the volunteers and people who chop and stack wood for the fire. They start painting and building sets at the beginning of October, so people can volunteer for that, too. I think there’s no end to how people can help.”

Follow the Star runs on the Gladstone Park grounds from December 6-8 and December 12-15. For more information and to sign up to volunteer in the future, you can find their website at followthestarevent.com.