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Throughout the year, Marion Avenue has several “big days”. Thousands of people travel across the country to attend one or more of our conferences or special events. Below is a list of various events hosted by the church. If you are interested in attending any of these events, or need more information, please contact us.
2012 Live Animal Christmas Play | Highlights & Behind the Scenes
2012 Live Animal Christmas Play Commercial |
2013 Live Animal Christmas Play Dec 13-15, 2013 NEW SHOWS ADDED!|
The Live Animal Christmas Play is a southeast Iowa tradition that is still going strong after thirty-eight years of performances.
The production tells the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus Christ and is unique among Christmas events, in that the play is performed inside the church with the use of live animals in several scenes. Shepherds are watching their flock of sheep. Mary, riding a donkey, travels to Bethlehem with Joseph to be taxed. The manger scene depicts Joseph, Mary, and the Baby Jesus in the stable amidst sheep, cows, goats, and other animals. The wise men travel though the congregation on a full size camel!
The play also features various state-of the-art theater technologies. In addition to full artificial stage lighting, the crowd will be awed by special effects such as fog, confetti blasts, and a live flying angel hovering over the congregation. Last year, over 3,000 people came to the little town of Washington, Iowa to make this event their Christmas tradition.
Members of the Marion Avenue Baptist Church comprise the cast and crew; they spend hundreds of hours to plan, prepare, and perform the play each year. We invite you to attend any or all of the free performances. For more information regarding the Live Animal Christmas Play, please contact us.
Our Time Youth Conference APRIL 18-19, 2013
Every year, hundreds of teenagers travel from surrounding states to attend the national Our Time Youth Conference. This conference is designed to encourage teenagers to be leaders in their generation. The motto for the conference is, “It’s OUR TIME to do OUR PART in reaching OUR GENERATION!” Visit www.ourtimeyouthconference.com.
Fall Preaching Jubilee SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 3, 2013
Every September, the church hosts a preaching conference in conjunction with the church’s anniversary. Several nationally known speakers are invited in to challenge us to be better Christians. Hundreds of Pastor’s and ministry leaders, as well as laymen, travel from across the country to attend this conference.
Freedom Celebration
Every Year we celebrate our independence with a patriotic service and concert. After the morning service, the church family joins together for a delicious patriotic grill out. In addition to the concert, we have a full military color guard, and several audio/video presentations that will stir your patriotism.
Thanksgiving Celebration
The cornucopia is assembled in the church’s choir loft and measures 21 feet in length from its tip to the eight-foot-wide mouth. The horn spills out bushels of fruit and vegetables – apples, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, pineapples, potatoes, onions, corn, cabbage, and carrots – to create not only a visual but also fragrant reminder of God’s abundant blessing. A display of home canned goods, antiques, quilts, and animal pelts completes the scene.
Members of the church donate many of the items and also volunteer the many hours of work needed to assemble the horn and set up the display.
The public is invited to see the Thanksgiving scene and attend services. Pastor Brown will deliver special Thanksgiving messages, and the church choir will present songs of thanksgiving.
Old Fashioned Day & Tent Meeting
Every year we celebrate our future by remembering our past. The auditorium is adorned in the antiques of yesteryear. The staff, choir, and congregation all dress as if were living in the early 1900’s. After the morning service the church family meets at Marr Park for an old-fashioned dinner on the grounds and baptismal in the pond.
Basketball/Volleyball Tournament & Youth Rally MARCH 2, 2013
The Basketball/Volleyball tournament has been hosted by Marion Avenue for more than thirty years. We invite youth groups, Christian schools, and churches from all over the Midwest to bring a team of girls and guys to participate in our annual tournament. The tournament is held at the local Washington public high school gymnasium. Last year more than 30 different teams attend this one-day tournament.
Western Sunday & Rodeo
Western Sunday is a day at Marion Avenue that you do not want to miss! The congregation meets out at the Washington County Fairgrounds for this special day. The day starts out with our morning service under the old tabernacle (sheep barn) at the fairgrounds. The service has a western flavor to it as all the staff and choir are dressed in their western “duds”.
After the morning service, everyone enjoys a real wild and tough rodeo. We hire a rodeo company to do the bull riding and then the members of Marion Avenue do the rest. Grab your cowboy hat and meet at the fairgrounds in August!