STUTTGART, Ark. – Choir members from various churches came together on Sunday, Dec. 15, to present the Stuttgart community with the “I Call Him Lord” Christmas musical.
The idea for choir cooperation came about 10 years ago when the choirs at Southside Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Stuttgart were experiencing a decline in numbers.
“It had gotten to where our choirs were dwindling a little bit. It was kind of hard to piece together a choir just in our own churches for individual Christmas productions,” said Jeremy Prine, minister of music and youth at Southside.
Looking for a solution, Prine and Scott Quimby, pastor of music and worship at First Baptist, had the idea to combine choirs to present a Christmas musical.
“It went fantastic. We did it one night at their church and one night at our church and we did that for about five years or so,” Quimby said.
Quimby then had the idea, as his church was emphasizing reaching out to the community, to move the musical to the Grand Prairie Center, a performing arts center on the campus of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas. He proposed the idea to his pastor at the time, who was all for it, and then called Prine.
They have been having it at the Grand Prairie Center ever since. It has continued to evolve over the years with Prine incorporating a youth instrumental ensemble and Quimby including a children’s choir.
“There was a point where we had the adult choir, small kids’ choir, and a youth instrumental ensemble all on stage. A little bit of every age involved in it,” Prine said of Sunday’s production.
Additionally, Prine said they had wider church involvement this year, with five different churches represented in the musical. Along with choir members from First Baptist and Southside, he said they also had individuals from First Baptist Church in Almyra, First Christian Church, and First Assembly of God in Clarendon.
The Gospel is presented throughout the production with narration. Before the last song, Quimby said they typically invite a pastor to present the Gospel as well. This year it was Craig Jenkins, director of convention advancement and news at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, who recently served First Baptist, Stuttgart through the Smart Start Interim Ministry.
“It’s just a cool way, to me, to tell the Christmas story to our community,” Quimby said.
This year, Quimby said they had 300 to 400 people in attendance. Following the musical, attendees are invited to a community reception for food and fellowship.
Prine said it is “less of concert and more of a community worship gathering to honor Jesus for the season.”