BUENA PARK—On Easter morning, a historic Southern California amusement park became a worship venue when Knott’s Berry Farm and the Orange County Southern Baptist Association (OCSBA) cohosted their 72nd annual Easter sunrise service.
The open-air event at Knott’s Berry Farm’s Wagon Camp Theatre featured music led by the worship team from Echo Church in Anaheim and a message by Trevor Cooper, pastor of First Baptist Church in Cypress. Prayer and Scripture reading also punctuated the 6 a.m. event, including a Scripture reading by the 11-year-old son of OCSBA director of missions Victor Chayasirisobhon. Park admission and parking were free for the approximately 1,000 people who gathered to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.
“It’s a very family moment,” Chayasirisobhon said. “In OCSBA, we say we are a family. It’s events like these that help those of us who do ministry in Orange County feel even closer together, because how can you feel closer than celebrating the resurrected King together on Easter morning?”
The sunrise service has a long history at one of the region’s iconic theme parks. It began in the 1950s when Knott’s Berry Farm founder Walter Knott partnered with local Baptists to offer an Easter worship experience for park employees and the community. Knott died in 1981, yet the Easter worship tradition lived on as Knott’s Berry Farm went through a series of owners and grew to achieve 4 million visitors annually. The Easter service grew with the park, cohosted each year by the OCSBA.
But can an event at an amusement park known for thrill rides and a wild west theme really be a serious worship experience? Absolutely, says Mark Gayden, director of missions for the neighboring Long Beach Harbor Southern Baptist Association. He led in prayer at the sunrise service.
“This was not a gimmick at the amusement park,” Gayden said. “This was a full-blown worship service where we gave God the glory and the praise. If that was the only service you were attending that day, you got the full worship experience.”
In addition to celebrating Christ’s resurrection, Gayden enjoyed the multiethnic facet of the service. “It looked like heaven,” he said. “Everyone under heaven was there. The great majority of people were the children of God.”
A service highlight came when people who wanted to receive Christ as Lord and Savior indicated their commitments by raising their hands. Those who invited unchurched friends were charged to follow up with individuals who made decisions for Christ.
Chayasirisobhon thinks the theme park venue eliminated a barrier for some people who were intimidated by traditional church settings.
“A lot of people will come who don’t want to come for the first time to a church building,” he said. “But going to Knott’s Berry Farm is kind of an interesting place. A lot of people are open to coming to that. It’s where they hear the Gospel message for the first time.”
After the service, local pastors gathered for breakfast and encouragement before the day of Easter ministry.
“It takes a lot of wonderful people that have the right heart to make this a successful opportunity for people to know about Jesus,” Chayasirisobhon said, “for others to come back to Jesus who fell away from Him or for others to be encouraged and celebrate.”
