Church gets in the spirit with tailgate event
Team colors filled the parking lot at Cedartown Baptist Church over the weekend last Saturday night, but it wasn't the spirit of competition that brought out the crowd.
It was the father, the son and the holy ghost that church members rooted for during a spirit night at the church, held beneath the canopy of shady oak trees much like the old days when parishioners would meet outside at the edge of a river for baptisms or revivals.
Though the church provided a theme for the event centered around one's favorite football teams, the passion was all centered around celebrating the gospel of Jesus and belief in the Lord above.
Each car was elegantly designed to resemble each owner's preference for their favorite sports team, or the team they've played for in the past. And the variety of delicious foods served alongside the decorations gave reason for church members to mingle in fellowship and a few bites to eat.
At the end of the event, the top three vehicles were chosen and prizes were awarded, all judged on appearance of decorated tailgates and if the pastor, who is a Florida Gators supporter, also liked the team represented too.
This is the third year Senior Pastor David Taylor has organized the event at First Baptist, and he wanted to make it clear that the whole community is invited out to come join and be apart of the spirit night in the future.
The spirit night also included live entertainment by Gospel artist Martin West and Pastor David Heeringa provided a short message at the end of the event.
"What I like most about this event is that I get to visit with folks that I care about," said Taylor. "But every one is so busy in any given week, and this gives me a chance to connect and also get to meet new people."
As the church continues to spread the message of the good works of Jesus through the community at events like the Spirit Night, they are also dedicated to giving back as well. The Jonah Bag Ministry has been helping local children ensure they get fed at home since 2011, and thus far has provided meals for more than 4,000 youth in the area, or helping to feed 150 children at home on a weekly basis.
Bags are given out to students t take home so that during the school year, they will have food at night and over the weekend for those families who can't afford to keep every mouth full throughout each day.
All of these Jonah Bags are made by donations and support from around the community, so the way one could help out is to non-perishable food items or monetary donations to the Cedartown First Baptist to drop it off at the office.
The church now offers a women's only group, that will have their first meeting Nov. 30 with a time to be determined. A special guest speaker who converted from the Jewish faith to Christianity is planned for the opening session.