EUREKA SPRINGS — The owner of a gospel radio network said God is working through him to save the Great Passion Play.
“I believe the Lord has led us to Eureka Springs because I don’t believe God wants the Passion Play to close,” said Randall Christy, president and founder of The Gospel Station Network of Ada, Okla. “I believe He wants the Passion Play to stay open and improve for future generations. God can do it through all of us and many others collectively.”
Christy, who also is pastor of Union Valley Baptist Church in Ada, was speaking Thursday night to about 120 people at Smith Chapel on the Passion Play grounds near Eureka Springs.
He is trying to raise $75,000 by midnight Monday to stop Cornerstone Bank of Eureka Springs from taking over the 700-acre Passion Play property in lieu of foreclosure. Christy said the $75,000 is the interest on the debt to Cornerstone Bank.
Paying the $75,000 before the deadline will allow the Passion Play to continue operating, and more money will be raised to get throughthe 2013 season, Christy said.
This year, the play was performed on 110 nights from May 4 to Oct. 27.
Christy’s presentation Thursday night - which resembled a church service, with singing and prayer - resulted in a dozen checks and three $100 bills on the altar afterward. Donations that night amounted to $9,420, including a $2,000 donation from Christy.
“I don’t have the personal wealth to save this, but I’ll tell you what I’ve got,” Christy told the crowd. “I’ve got the Holy Spirit, and he wants to save this.”
Donations totaled $16,720 as of 1 p.m. Friday, said Mike Bishop, president of the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce.
CHRISTY’S INVOLVEMENT
After 44 years, the Passion Play had what many believed was its last performance Oct.
- The play’s board began asking for financial help in September, saying the organization needed to raise $500,000 to keep operating the play. But donations amounted to about $18,000, which was enough to allow the play to finish its 2012 season.
In mid-December, Christy learned of the play’s plight. Christy contacted Keith Butler, chairman of the nonprofit Elna M. Smith Foundation, which operates the play.
“I asked Keith Butler, and he said, ‘We’re out of time,’” Christy said. “I said, ‘No we’re not, because God put it on my heart.’ ... We have gotten together and will work very diligently to save the Passion Play.”
Butler said 7.6 million people have seen the performance on Magnetic Mountain near Eureka Springs since it opened in 1968. Attendance peaked in 1992 at 289,212, dropping to 46,578 this past season, he said.
Christy said he hopes The Gospel Station Network can operate the production for its 2013 season and buy it after that. The network has experience with events, production and musical concerts, he said.
“If we can put the Passion Play on this [coming] year, I believe we can pull this thing out of the hole,” he said. “We already have been given an exclusive 12-month option to purchase if we can make it past this first hurdle.”
That first hurdle is the $75,000, Christy told the crowd. The play is $2.8 million in debt to Cornerstone Bank.
“I do know the debt is $2.8million, so they have to take that, and hopefully a lot less than that,” he said.
The foundation has lost $1.8 million over the past four years, according to tax records. The foundation had been trying to sell the property for $5.5 million but was unable to do so, Butler said.
Christy said The Gospel Station Network will give $100,000 worth of free advertising to the Passion Play for its next season. The network owns 25 radio stations in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.
The Passion Play would have to operate with volunteer staff for its next season, Christy said.
“It’s all going to be based on the budget and what we can afford to do,” he said.
EFFECT PROFOUND
Christy said the Passion Play needs to improve each year to keep attracting people who’ve seen it before.
“There are always improvements that can be made,” said Christy. “The quality of the play needs to go up every year. If I don’t improve my church every year, I go backward. That’s not a criticism. There’s always room for improvement.”
Christy said seeing the play, which depicts the final days of Christ’s life, performed live profoundly affects some of its viewers.
“You can watch Jesus Christ be beaten and crucified on television, but there isabsolutely nothing like seeing it live. It will make an impact on any person if they have a heart,” he said.
During the presentation Thursday night, Susan Rigby of Madison, Miss., was moved to tears.
“God does not want this place to close,” she said during a question-and-answer session.
After the presentation, Rigby said she has attended the Passion Play every year for 30 years. It is her place of spiritual comfort.
“I never got tired of it,” she said. “The spirit of the Lord brings something to life every time.”
Rigby, who bought a second home in Eureka Springs two years ago, said she has gone to Magnetic Mountain to pray on the Passion Play grounds for 30 years. She was startled in November when the gates were locked and the lights were out onthe seven-story Christ of the Ozarks statue.
“For the first time, we came and the gates were locked,” she said. “I couldn’t go in there to pray.”
But donors have since given money to pay the light bill and illuminate the statue.
“Jesus is the light that came into the world,” Rigby said. “There is no darkness that can put out the light.”
Donations can be made through thegospelstation.com or the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce, which will be open Monday.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/29/2012