WR Second Baptist lights up the Good Friday night

When someone – and that someone would be the Lord Almighty – turned the lights out on Good Friday, that’s when a host of youngsters turned the flashlights on to rummage around a baseball field and collect as many colored plastic eggs as their little baskets could handle.

In what is becoming a growing and growing tradition at the Warner Robins Second Baptist Church, the flashlight Easter Egg hunt capped off an evening with a festival-like atmosphere for hundreds of families. The dark clouds above never produced inclement conditions, but the past has shown this church staff that even rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of this occasion.

Ben Hunley, Second Baptist children’s pastor, said two years ago there was a “monsoon” when they wanted to set up their Good Friday carnival … and still around 1,000 people showed up. Everything was just moved indoors.

Hunley said that number grew to around 1,500 one year ago. Everything officially began at 6 p.m. Friday, but even afterwards more and more groups showed up to line up for registration and then take the youngsters to fun station after fun station.

At registration, one of the more important items handed out were wristbands. Hunley said, with the egg hunt happening at sunset, these wristbands would contain all the child’s important information should he or she get lost in the dark.

Most of those in attendance are not affiliated with Second Baptist.

“That’s what we hope for,” said Hunley.

“It’s a great way to serve the community,” said head pastor Jim Perdue. “We want to make an impact, for people to feel like they have a home and a second family.

“It’s a great way reach out. Even if they don’t come back for church on Saturday or Sunday, if they encounter difficulties, maybe we will be the first they reach out to.”

Yes, the carnival had inflatables, a mini-golf hole and tossing games. For the really young, there was a tube-like maze to crawl through and find more plastic eggs.

For the craft-minded, one table was set up to make mini flowerpots. What looked like crushed Oreo cookies was really potting soil, which was collected in little bags. Garon Wease was one of those helping make the little pots out of plastic eggs and gave each one a seed for planting green beans at home.

Karen Cart led another table to make little Easter bunnies where Play-Doh was set inside the egg and pipe-cleaners were used to hold up the ears.

As for the flashlight egg hunt, the children didn’t have to do real hunting, for all the eggs were spread out on the Victory infield. Hunley said there would be two groups based on ages, and for each one several helpers would hold up ropes in one large circle. They would drop the rope on the count of three, and off the gatherers would go.

HHJ News