Driving around to look at elaborately decorated homes and Christmas lights has become a holiday tradition for many families. Daphne United Methodist Church has been adding hearing the Christmas story to that tradition since 1981.

Every two years, the church, located on Main Street in Daphne, puts on “Journey to Jesus: A Live Nativity Experience,” an outdoor, drive-through Christmas play.

“You can pile the kids in the car, you’re going around looking at Christmas decorations, and then you can stop by here and not have to worry about getting out of the car,” said Steve Day, who coordinates the setup of the event. “It kind of reminds me of drive-in-movies.”

Nearly 200 volunteers will show up Dec. 21 and 22 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to put on the play, doing everything from playing Mary to making sure all the lights work to handing out the CDs as cars enter the parking lot.

The church records the Christmas story in eight parts to match the eight scenes set up in the long parking lot at the church. Volunteers usually have about 300 CDs to hand out, and most of the CDs are used throughout the two-day event, Day said.

Most of the decorations and costumes are reused from years’ past, but Day said there are always challenges to overcome each time the church puts on the event.

“Sometimes it’s a mad dash to the store to get an extension cord, sometimes it’s running around getting light bulbs, sometimes it’s making something new,” Day said. “And children and animals always make it fun. You know, the angel up in the stand wants to come down and play with the sheep.”

Day said most visitors have no idea what it takes to put on the 10-minute experience, but he said the volunteers love the event and don’t mind the work.

“Anytime you put a production on for folks, there are those who realize what it is, and then there are those who are blissfully unaware, and that’s fine,” he said. “It’s there for them to enjoy, and we enjoy putting it on. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a blessed event.”

Cars enter at the church’s entrance on Main Street, and the people inside each car are given a CD. Each station has its own story, and by the time visitors exit onto Santa Rosa Avenue about 10 minutes after entering, each will have heard not only the story of baby Jesus, but also the story of salvation, said Ann Fuller, a volunteer who heads up communications at the church.

“We want to show people the Christmas story of baby Jesus, and that the ultimate point is he came to Earth to die for our sins and give us salvation,” she said.

Elaine Gensemer, who has worked at the church for almost nine years, said having the story available to people in their cars allows them to hear the story in a non-threatening, non-invasive manner and encourages discussion.

“You get to be together with your whole family in your car, listening to a CD with the Christmas story, and you can talk about it in your car and just share it with your family,” she said. “It’s not threatening at all — no one is going to be preaching to you, and you can come through and do it at your own pace and leave without anyone trying to get you to join the church or anything.”

Day said Daphne United Methodist Church seeks to be involved in the community as much as possible, and this event is simply a gift to its neighbors.

“It’s a mission of our church to be out in the community and tell people about the story of Jesus,” Day said. “It’s a mission of our church to bring people to Christ. And this is just one way that we maybe make somebody aware that he exists, and that’s a good thing. So that’s what we’re doing — it’s just part of our community service to do this sort of thing. We love to do it, and we think it sends a good message.”