A Christmas-themed musical concert organized by the Quisqueya Central Adventist Church in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, drew more than 1,600 people to Sambil Event Hall on December 21, 2023. The free two-and-a-half-hour event, themed “The Star of Hope,” was the largest community-impact event held last year, welcoming more than 800 local residents who were invited by the two dozen small groups overseen by the church.

“The main purpose was to go out of the four walls of the church and take advantage of the sensitivity that people have during this festive season and preach the Gospel in a different way,” said Carlos Uribe, pastor of the Quisqueya Central Adventist Church. “Our talented and committed lay persons, as well as donors from our congregation, spent a whole year preparing and organizing the event.”

Pastor Uribe added, “Our passion to worship Christ has taken us to gather musicians and Christian singers with the objective to exalt God and share the best news of all: the birth of Jesus.” There were 110 musicians among them, a philharmonic with 20 musicians, 30 singers, a praise and worship band with 35 musicians, as well as a percussion band.

This is the first time in 15 years that the church has held an evangelistic event outside its sanctuary to accommodate more people in the community, explained Uribe.

“Today, this convention center has turned from just a plain [facility] to a door of heaven and arch of salvation, displaying a message of hope [through] Christian music and the message from the Word of God,” said Pastor Jehomar Peña, presenter of the church’s nationwide Radio Amanecer program, “Constant in Prayer.”

The event also included drama performances as well as a call to visitors in attendance to accept Christ in their hearts. More than 40 interested people approached the stage during the program.

Pastor Gerardo Bautista, president of the Central Dominican Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, said it was important to recognize how Jesus can transform the lives of people. “Our objective is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ and plant the Word of God in the lives of the spectators, through inspirational music, an edifying message, offering hope to them and always looking to be faithful stewards of the talents and resources given by God,” said Bautista.

There are more than 500 active church members in the Quisqueya Central Adventist Church, which was established in 1985 and is the largest Adventist church in the Dominican Republic.

Misael Carrera and his wife, Cristina, who were the organizers of the event, said it was a dream of theirs to organize an event that could impact the lives of so many people who many times do not like going to church.

“God worked miraculously so that there would be enough resources and talents among the leadership and membership to organize this event,” said Misael. Planning took more than 12 months, with 200 people organized in 20 teams to work together on each detail of the program. “Small groups worked to invite hundreds to the event, while the talents of our church through the praise ministry, music band, philharmonic group, and junior philharmonic group practiced for months,” he added.

“We want to continue working to move God’s work forward and show Christ in our lives in everything we engage in,” Misael concluded.

Church leaders and small group ministry leaders will continue to follow up the dozens who expressed interest in learning more about Jesus and the Bible.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division website.