HOUSTON (BP) – In the darkness, a light appeared. Then another, and another. Quickly they grew in tandem with the applause throughout the auditorium of Champion Forest Baptist Church.
Soon, the light overwhelmed the darkness.
Through Sunday night, an official count of 1,114 people had done just that over a five-day span. Every time, Stephens said, the crowd couldn’t contain its reaction. Senior pastor Jarrett Stephens saw it every night Dec. 8-Dec. 12. At the conclusion of the church’s Christmas Spectacular concert, he asked those to signal their salvation prayer by holding up the flashlight on their phone.
“Our church would go crazy on seeing it,” he said.
Stephens brought the practice from Prestonwood Baptist Church, where he served on staff for 20 years – most recently as teaching pastor – until called to become the pastor at Champion Forest a year ago. Due to concerns over COVID-19, Champion Forest didn’t have its annual Christmas Spectacular concert in 2020.
Stephens felt its absence factored in the crowd sizes of last week’s performances.
“God is moving and to Him be the glory. It is all about Him,” he said. “I’m amazed and our team is blown away by the response.”
Single performances of the Christmas Spectacular took place Wednesday through Friday, with two performances on Saturday and Sunday, each.
Those weekend shows consisted of one in English and the other in Spanish. Because of that, choir members had to learn all of the songs in both languages.
Picking up another language in any form isn’t easy, and even more so for people in their 70s. But Gary and Nancy Pollard joined those answering the challenge, and starting in October learned all 106 pages of music encompassing the four medleys containing four to five songs each.
“When you get to our age and have spoken only one language in your life, it’s a challenge,” Nancy said. “But, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”In total, they and others learned about 20 songs in a foreign language.
While choir members remained constant for all seven performances, Spanish-speaking actors were utilized for the Spanish concerts.
