'The Jesus Story' Tradition Continues

production of the has come a long way over the last two decades.

What first began as a small church production has grown into the highly anticipated show it is known as today, attracting thousands from the area who come to see it year after year.

Pastor Bill Hegedus of Bible Baptist Church said when the production first began years ago he never would have imagined it would grow into what it is today. It takes a lot of work, time and expense but the Lord has always led the way and it continues on every year, he said.

For the 23^rd year it is back once again.  The production opened this past weekend and performances will continue this weekend and next with the final performance on Good Friday, Hegedus said.   

The first year Hegedus came to Bible Baptist Church he gave a dramatized message of the Passion of the Christ. He had some help from others who sang or did panamine to amplify the message.

Later it grew into a small production that began to attract an audience big enough to pack the church’s multi-purpose room. The show’s popularity grew and grew reaching a point where they had to begin turning people away which obviously upset many people who travelled to the area to see the play, Hegedus said.

They thought there was no way they would be able to keep the show going, the said, but the Lord worked it in such a way that one of the congregant’s brothers happened to serve on the board at the Felician College just down in the road in Lodi. This led the church to be able to use the 1,400 seat theater for their production and they have been using it for more than a decade now. Hegedus said they are also able to use the theater for rehearsals.

The church does not charge the public admission to attend. They just want people to come and see it, Hegedus states. Since the church does have to pay the cost to rent the theater they take offerings towards the performance. Hegedus admits it can be tough some years but they have so far managed always to pay all the expenses of the production.

Everyone is welcome to take part in “The Jesus Story”  Hegedus says. The majority of those involved with the production hail from the church but they will let others come aboard if they want to devote their time to it. The actors are all non-professionals with real day jobs who are willing to give their time for the music, passion and  love of the Lord, Hegedus says. Many of them have taken on the same role year after year. The production also welcomes new members each year as well.

Manny Padrone, who Hegedus says has some acting experience, has been laying the role of Jesus for the past three years. He and his wife just had a baby and she will play the special role of Baby Jesus this year, the pastor said.  Before Padrone, they had an actor play the role who actually came up from Florida every year to do the play. After 20 years he retired from the production, Hegedus said.

Melanie Watkins, Hegedus’ granddaughter, is playing Mary for the first time this year. The theater is her passion and she’s been studying it in college.  It’s been a tradition for so long that many of the children in the congregation say they can’t wait to grow up so they can take on certain roles in the production one day, Hegedus said. In fact most of the cast is under 25.

The five remaining performances of “The Jesus Story” are: Friday, March 30 at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 31 at 4 p.m.; Sunday, April 1 at 4 p.m.; Thursday, April 5 at 8 p.m. and Friday, April 6 at 8 p.m.