7,000 expected to attend Dec. 24 services
featuring New Jersey's only live Star Wars nativity scene,
a visit from Darth Santa, and Jolly Ol' Stormtroopers
Known for its culturally relevant and innovative approaches to ministry, Liquid Church has announced that its 2015 Christmas services will center around Star Wars, coinciding with the much-anticipated movie franchise's Dec. 18 release of "The Force Awakens."
One of New Jersey's fastest growing Christian churches, Liquid's "Cosmic Christmas" services begin with a 3-week series on Dec. 13 and conclude on Christmas Eve with an epic event for guests.
On Christmas Eve, Liquid will host New Jersey's only live Star Wars Nativity Scene, with guests invited to line-up for their opportunity to wield a lightsaber and join the Nativity with Leia, Han Solo, Chewy, and R2D2.
Children will get the chance to sit on Darth Santa's lap (aka Darth Vader), share their Christmas wish, and take a photo with Lord Vader and his Stormtrooper "elves."
Each service includes costumed characters, movie clips and music designed to wow audiences.
"We want to draw on the excitement surrounding Star Wars in order to reach new people and teach them about the birth of Jesus Christ, in a way they've never heard before. We believe we have the greatest story in the world, but the challenge is reaching people with that story. So, as a church, we want to be dynamic, engaging, and culturally relevant," Tim Lucas, lead pastor and founder of Liquid Church, said. "There are no rules that say church needs to be dry and boring. One of our core values at Liquid is that 'church is fun.' It's okay to laugh and celebrate together while talking about Christmas. If that means having Star Wars characters in costume and dancing Stormtroopers, I'm all for it."Liquid's 3-week Christmas series will take an unexpected look at the Christmas story.
Rather than focus on the birth of Jesus on Earth, Lucas will share the story from heaven's perspective, which includes a rogue emperor, evil rebellion, miraculous birth, and a cosmic war behind the stars.
The idea stems from Lucas' own passion for Star Wars.
"I already have my tickets for the December 18th premiere of 'The Force Awakens' – I'm a huge Star Wars fan. In fact, as a child I would take the family Nativity and replace the figurines with Star Wars action figures – that's the inspiration for our live Star Wars Nativity. At its core, Star Wars reflects spiritual faith. It's the battle between good and evil, the light versus the dark, and that's something we can all rally around," Lucas said.Jam-packed with Star Wars surprises, Christmas Eve services are expected to be the largest in Liquid Church history, with an anticipated 7,000 people attending its 14 services.
"Cosmic Christmas" services will be held at all 5 Liquid campuses in Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union Counties.
All are welcome to the free, family-friendly, 60-minute Christmas Eve experience, but tickets are required.
Guests may learn more about "Cosmic Christmas" and register for their free tickets at CosmicChristmas.com.
ABOUT LIQUID CHURCH:
Liquid Church is one of New Jersey's fastest-growing Christian churches. Officially launched in 2007 by Lead Pastor Tim Lucas, the church's vision and mission is to "Saturate the State with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," with campuses in Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union Counties. Each week, more than 3,500 people experience Liquid Church's worship services in New Jersey and around the globe through Church Online. As part of its global outreach, Liquid provides clean drinking water to the poorest of the poor, with dozens of completed wells in several countries including El Salvador and Nicaragua - and most recently, Rwanda! Liquid Church's innovative approaches to outreach and ministry have been spotlighted by CNN and The New York Times. LiquidChurch.com.
