Three Springs Live Nativity History 

Jeff Rush

As we have just come through another “Live Nativity,” many were once again asking me questions; How long has this been going on? How did it get started? What made you want to do something like this? 

While I still have my faculties about me, (even if SOME may disagree), I’ve decided to take some time to give the history and context of this event.

In the spring of 1985, having lived here for less than a year, Deanne and I began a youth group for local teens. Starting with just 12 or 13 students between 13 and 17 years of age, the group grew quickly. By 1987 we were consistently hosting 30-40 students each Monday night, the majority of whom were from unchurched families. We called it; Monday Night Mission. We had a core group, or leadership team, from among those students, with whom we worked closely to plan and execute the program each week. 

It was likely sometime in December of 1987 that I decided to create a meaningful “Christmas Experience” for the students one night as we approached the Advent season. We wanted to create an event that would “make it real” to them. 

At the time, our neighbor, Bill Seaman, kept 10 or 12 beef cows in the bottom of the old barn on the Three Springs property. He stored hay upstairs, but was occasionally less than diligent in cleaning out the manure on the lower levels, making the bottom of the barn in every way a “stable!” Bill should perhaps be forgiven, (as he was in his 70s) and, in addition to the cows, the bottom of the barn was strewn with lumber, feed troughs, and a couple pieces of old farm equipment. There was however, a section of this basement that was somewhat clear, and I decided it would suffice. 

With Bill’s permission, we grabbed about 18 or 20 hay bales and formed them into a circle. I then lit a couple of old kerosene lanterns and hung them (safely), from the old beams in the barn. It was there that we gathered our 30 or 35 students together for a few minutes and I read the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke. I went on to explain that it was into THIS kind of setting that God sent His son. Into this, the most humble of places and circumstances, our Redeemer came! 

In the dim light of the lanterns, as we sat on hay bales, taking in the pungent smells of manure, and listening to the sound of cows chewing their hay, SOMETHING magical was happening. The story suddenly came alive for me as it had never done before and seemingly, the story came to life for the group of students as well. Together, we unpacked all of the mysteries of the Advent story found in the scriptures. It was memorable for all!

The next year, students asked if we could once again “read the Christmas story” in the barn. We did. By the next year, we got the idea to not only READ the story, but to “act-out” the story, still sitting on hay bales in the bottom of the old barn, and still “feeling” the original story through the presence of cows and a dimly lit stable. 

By around 1990, we were continuing to make this a Christmas tradition with our youth group students. By now they wanted to invite their parents, so we added more hay bales and a flat wagon. Still meeting in the bottom of the old barn, we also added a “scene” of shepherds and an angel announcement out behind the old barn. At one point in the presentation, we would slide open the back door, and up in a tree a light would come on and a group of shepherds “watching their flocks” would be struck with fear and trembling. 

By the time we reached the early 90’s we made a few more changes. We would initially gather our guests on the front lawn of the Mansion and begin to tell the story there. Mary and Joseph were on each side of the Mansion front porch, and a light would come onto each one as they received the angelic announcement. The group would then proceed to walk around the east side of the Mansion where they encountered a couple of basic “stands” between the Stable and Summer House. This was our own, very small, Bethlehem. Guests would then enter and proceed up a very small set of steps into the top of the barn, no longer using the original basement space. After a couple years of utilizing this one very small set of steps, we would add a second, thereby expediting the process of moving people into the top of the barn. By this time we were hosting several hundred people who came to experience this “Live Nativity,” for just one night, exclusively manned by youth group students. 

In the top of the barn we would place two flat hay wagons, building several rows of bales on top of and in front of these wagons into seating. By doing this we could seat approximately 80-90 people. The barn space available was much different than it appears now, as all we had to work with were two sections of the main threshing floor. Both sides of the barn, (the north and south side), were hay mows, and completely filled with hay. The back of the barn was unusable as well and was filled with all kinds of equipment and “junk.” We would place the wagons on the south threshing floor, and everyone would face the north where the manger area was created. 

For many years the Nativity was presented in this way. Mary would be led in, bareback and riding side-saddle, on the back of a small horse, in “great distress” as she was in labor. Joseph would assist her in dismounting the horse and would take the horse back out to get some hot water and towels for Mary as she was about to give birth. While he was gone, Mary would reflect upon the situation and typically sing "Breath of Heaven.” Joseph would come back in after the song “with a baby in a basket covered up.” At this point everyone’s attention was turned toward the west as the barn doors opened and the angel/shepherd scene took place just outside the doors. 

By the time the doors closed, Mary was holding her baby in her arms.

During these years of using the top portion of the barn in a smaller capacity, we continued hanging kerosene lanterns to provide light. We were therefore VERY safety-conscious, and had several people continually positioned with fire extinguishers. 

Over the next several years, the village area continued to “mature and develop,” and we added the arrival of the Magi and caravan. Each Three Springs staff person brought creativity and skill to continue developing and improving the entire experience. 

By around 2010 or 2012, we added the large “Jerusalem Wall,” as well as the simpler Bethlehem Wall. This provided clear demarcation of these areas. It was around this same time that we expanded the seating area of the barn to include the two hay mows, to the north and south, and re-oriented the manger area to the east, with a black “backdrop” to hide all of the storage still present in that part of the barn. We also eliminated the use of the stairs inside the barn, and had people walk through the barn and paddock area, coming in through the main doors at the barn bridge. 

It was around 2014 that we began to provide a “hospitality area” in our vehicle parking garage, having previously hosted guests in the Meeting Barn following each presentation. In 2018, or thereabouts, we made the decision to light the top of the barn with Edison lights, and finally get away from the kerosene lanterns, prompted mostly by safety concerns. We continued…and continue to this day…to use almost exclusively “fire-light” in all other areas of the show.

Nowadays, the village area is TEAMING with life, vendors, and appropriate CHAOS! There are more animals than ever, and more thieves and Roman guards. The sets and scope continues to expand each year, with more and more of the story being brought to life in front of our eyes. 

Most importantly, there are more and more people who desire to come every two years to not only HEAR the story….but EXPERIENCE the story…with ALL of the senses! We know that it will continue to mature and develop as more and more people lend their talents and craft! 

If you are reading these words, YOU have had a part, and I say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

• Jeff Rush