Inspired by Wondering to Jerusalem, written by my dear friend and fellow “Jesus gal,” Vanessa Myers, we planned a Lent family event designed to help the holy week stories of our faith come alive for all ages and stages. Vanessa has a beautiful way of blending Biblical truth with hands-on creativity so that Scripture doesn’t just stay on the page—it’s experienced.

And this year, we took it on the road.

Because community is in our name, we partnered with a local senior living center to host the event. Truthfully, something like this had been on my ministry bucket list for years.

The relationships were already there—residents included church members and family members of our congregation. Invitations went out in every direction: residents invited friends and family, and our church did the same.

And when we asked if we could come? The program director didn’t even need to check the calendar. She shared that Sunday afternoons are often quiet—and sometimes lonely—for senior living center residents. After a big brunch, there’s typically no evening activity.

The senior living center welcomed us with open arms—and incredible generosity.

They provided:

• A lovely outdoor courtyard space
• Tables, chairs, and a tent
• A TV monitor for sharing videos
• Half of the door prizes
• Palm tree props for a photo station
• And even the food (portable charcuterie-style cups filled with cheese, crackers, pepperoni, and olives!)

The chef didn’t just prepare the food—he came to the event with his family, including his two children.

It felt like everyone was part of something special. Our church family showed up ready to serve.

Some wore live nativity costumes, others sported church t-shirts. They brought their children, grandchildren, parents, and grandparents—truly a multigenerational gathering.

Together, we led interactive stations just as designed in Wondering to Jerusalem, while instrumental Jerusalem marketplace music played softly in the background. Every 20–30 minutes, we paused to give away door prizes and share our children’s Resurrection Sunday shadow play on the big screen.

Laughter, conversation, storytelling—it all flowed so naturally.

We had clear goals going in and every single one of those goals was met:

• To connect with our community in a meaningful, intergenerational way
• To give our Ambassadors a place to practice serving
• To identify and encourage future Family Ministry Interns
• To create space for current interns to lead
• To serve side-by-side across generations

After everything was cleaned up and packed away, my ministry partner and I went back in to say one last thank you. That’s when the program director smiled and asked: So… can we talk about a live nativity?” Yes. Yes, we can.

Because when you bring the story of Jesus into the community, you never know what beautiful invitation might come next.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16