Christmas: Penrith church uses dazzling light display to illuminate the “real meaning” of the celebration

ALAN TAYLOR reports from Sydney on how one Penrith church has used an impressive light show to engage the community in the lead-up to Christmas this year (and how Hillsong Church has once more wowed audiences with its Christmas Carols Spectacular)…

With the Christmas season upon us, most churches are running the usual Christmas program of Carols by Candlelight or pantomimes as a way of engaging with their local community.

ImagineNations Church in Penrith, New South Wales, though, is not most churches.

The church has designed, constructed, and powered up a stunning Christmas lights display. Run over two weekends in December, the display was the brainchild of Senior Pastor, Jack Hanes, according to youth, service and events pastor, Steve Hunter.

“We have always put on an event for Christmas, whether it be Christmas carols or a Christmas story production, or The Bethlehem Experience which we ran on the property for 12 years. At the start of 2015 Pastor Jack told me he wanted Christmas lights that you could see from space…something our city has never seen before. And that’s where it started,” says Mr Hunter.

The event proved a hit with the community in 2015, with Mr Hunter admitting they were surprised.

“The first year we ran it we had over 23,000 people come through over the six nights we ran the event. The response was definitely overwhelming being our first year.”

Their first year included light displays depicting the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, a ‘lightfall’ which looks like a waterfall with lights instead of water, and a tunnel of light. There were also tractors, windmills, and water tanks, in keeping with agricultural Australia.

Lights aren’t the only attraction, though. A live nativity scene is also part of the display, with volunteers playing the parts of Joseph, Mary and others.

Not content with showing the same display as last year, this year’s event has doubled in size over the previous year with up to half a million lights on display.

And an increase in size can lead to an increase in visitors, with estimates exceeding last year.

“Based off simple maths we’re expecting up to 50,000 people coming through the lights this year as people had seen it last year and we have added a whole new section. It’s hard to predict numbers but what we do know for sure is that Christmas lights are something to look forward to no matter what age you are,” says Mr Hunter.

The doubling of the size means more work but the church has plenty of volunteers. There are two parts to the event for the church and the first is the setup. Volunteers donate their time on Saturdays to put the displays together, with electricians overseeing the construction.

“[A]nd then we have around 150 volunteers here each of the eight nights looking after carpark, rego/ticketing, ushering, nativity, food, kids’ activities and more,” adds Mr Hunter.

One part of the expansion is Santa’s Workshop, which includes a giant rocking horse, teddy bears, and presents. Some Christians may proclaim that “Jesus is the reason for the season”, and question why a church would include Santa as part of a Christian Christmas display. Mr Hunter has his own view on the matter.

“At the end of the day we are not here to push any agendas or to provide entertainment just for the church congregation, but the purpose of Penrith Christmas Lights was to have something the whole community could come to this Christmas season and be blessed,” he says. “If you ask any young person in our city what makes Christmas so magical, I’m sure Santa and presents would be high on that list. We do have a live nativity as you come to the end of the lights display to share what we believe is the real meaning of Christmas and that is the birth of Jesus Christ, the hope of the world. The church exists to bring that message of hope and why not do it with 500,000 lights – Santa included?”

For mother of three, Boots Pama, the highlight was the live nativity scene.

“The nativity scene is simple yet beautiful,” she says. “The people are happy to see it. The actors and actresses are warm and friendly. People stop by to have their photos taken. Christmas carols are also being played.”

HILLSONG CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS IN ‘SPECTACULAR’ FASHION

On Sunday night, Hillsong Church wrapped up the latest season of its Christmas Carols Spectacular at its campus in Baulkham Hills, Sydney. The event, described by many as the best yet, was a theatrical production of film, song, and dance. 

This year’s spectacular told the story of the wise men in search of Jesus’ birth.  Each scene of the film transitioned into the next with Christmas carols performed by students of Hillsong International College and church volunteers. 

The stage was set with multiple levels; the band spread across them, and three large screens gave a close-up of the singers and dancers on the stage. Lighting was used to great effect throughout the production and consisted of spotlights and a laser display. The production was rich in visuals, and collective gasps and squeals of delight resounded throughout the packed 3,500 seat auditorium.

In a breakaway from the main stage, ballet dancers performed on a small stage in the middle of the audience while an aerial acrobat performed above them.  The stage was also used for Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus as a huge star descended from the ceiling above them, while a singer performed a song about the saviour of humanity.

The production not only attracts church members but members of the wider community with more than 35,000 attending each year along the east coast of Australia. And while the production is visually and aurally stunning, the main point of it is the altar call at the conclusion, inviting people to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, with a gift of a New Testament for each person making the decision.

– ALAN TAYLOR

With a lot of events stopping visitors from taking photos for copyright and other reasons, allowing photos of the nativity scene was important to Mrs Pama.

“The sincerity of the host encouraging people to take selfies and post it on their Facebook page or Instagram is really something to me because I know that by doing so, people who will see it on the Facebook feeds will be reminded of what Christmas really is all about.”

Mrs Pama wasn’t the only one who was impressed with the event.

“The kids had a Wow! moment seeing the beautiful lights. We saw the lights already while we were driving to the venue and they were very excited.”

And with thousands turning out, Mrs Pama says there were no issues with crowds or parking.

“We enjoyed the night and advised some friends to see it too,” she said.

And enjoyment seems to be contagious with visitors to ImagineNations Church’s Facebook page posting positive comments and tagging friends and relatives.

ImagineNations Church has found a unique way to highlight Jesus at Christmas, and despite months of planning, construction, and the running of the event, it’s a way for the church to bless their community.

And as Christians know, a blessing goes both ways.

“It’s a great atmosphere on the property seeing families come out to enjoy this beautiful season and the joy on faces from the youngest to the youngest at heart makes all the work worthwhile,” says Mr Hunter. “People have travelled from all over Sydney to see this, and we have heard so many stories of people going to great lengths to get here. This event was put on just to bless our community, but we are the ones who have been blessed by them.”

ImagineNations Church is affiliated with the Australian Christian Churches and is based in Penrith.