Fort Worth church’s dazzling Christmas display is ‘what the season is all about’

It may not be calm at Olive Place Baptist Church during these deep December nights, but all is definitely bright.

A giant tree swirls in lights of all colors, while what Pastor Eddie Worthy called “leaping arches” and “fire sticks” add animation to a musical score, accompanied by stars, roof lights and dozens of other animated dazzlers.

It’s a big seasonlong production for the small community church of about 100 members in west Fort Worth.

Worthy, 60, is quite the techno-decorator at heart, even though his wife, Dawn, says there was a time early in his 24-year tenure at Olive Place that he forbade Christmas trees inside the church.

It all changed in 2008 when, Worthy says, he “came across something on the Internet and watched a video” of an awesome light-and-sound display filled with energy and excitement.

He was hooked — as a hobbyist and as a pastor looking to bring community spirit to the season.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I want to do that,’” he said of his online epiphany. “I found out there were guys who put these things together themselves and it’s a kind of DIY thing.”

The first display went up at the church in 2011. Since the bulbs are mostly light-emitting diodes, Worthy says it only costs about $6 extra in utilities to run the display every night between 6 and 10, from Thanksgiving through Christmas.

“It’s a pretty expensive hobby, but some of the church people have helped me with that,” he said. “I wanted to do something to demonstrate to the community, ‘Hey, we’re here.’”

He has gone to conferences every year for holiday decorators who like to literally add all the bells and whistles, and he studies up online at sites where he orders the equipment. He begins drawing up plans for the next year’s display in March.

‘A little crazy’

The church at 3283 Olive Place is the Wichita Falls native’s “one and only church,” he says. He became pastor there upon graduation from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Though the trees around the church are all decorated, most of the animated display is on the Elizabeth Lane side, where spectators can drive through the gravel parking lot to see it. There are no homes on that side.

“The thing about it is, we’re a small church, and [that] actually works in our favor,” said member Robert Williams, who helps with the display. “You don’t have to have 10 million people to do this.”

Preparation begins before Thanksgiving. Church members come by after work in November to help Worthy set up the 3 miles of wire, props, framing and 25,000 LED lights. It takes more than two weeks.

He labels all the boxes and tubs of equipment and keeps a binder with directions on where each element goes.

“The first year I didn’t do that,” he said, “and it was a little crazy.”

The analogy of light and its power over darkness figures into Worthy’s passion for the display.

“Lights are obviously what the season is all about,” Worthy said. “As a Christ follower, I want to share these lights. It’s psychological and spiritual.”

‘It’s so worth it’

There is music, too, but don’t expect the usual soft, slow Christmas carol. A lyricist in Connecticut obtained the rights to put new holiday-themed lyrics to the melodies of Party Rock Anthem, All About That Bass and even Y.M.C.A. A version of one beloved hymn is included, Amazing Grace Techno, and of course, Let It Go from Frozen.

Worthy uses software to pair the songs with the lights, and visitors to the display can tune their car radios to 92.7 FM for the full experience. The entire presentation is about 35 minutes long. It takes Worthy about 30 hours to sync a two- to three-minute song.

The men who help Worthy scramble atop the church to string lights every year are also dedicated to the mission.

“Eddie’s always been a vision guy,” said Williams. “When we’re putting it up, we say, ‘Why are we doing this? We’re too old.’ But when you turn it on, it’s so worth it.”

Shirley Jinkins, 817-390-7657

Twitter: @shirljinkins

This story was originally published December 23, 2014 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Fort Worth church’s dazzling Christmas display is ‘what the season is all about’."