“I see joy in the people’s faces when they come out. A true, from-the-belly-giggle or a ketchup covered smile makes me want to keep going. It makes me want to do it again next year,” says Sarah Butt, a member at Cornerstone Community Church, a Charis Fellowship in in Hagerstown, Md. (Dean Pryor, lead pastor). Sarah is speaking about the church’s third annual Fall Fest, which was held on October 5.
The festival hosted 815 people in total, 775 of those were guests and the remainder were volunteers. The day consisted of games, hayrides, inflatables, other free activities, and food.
Cornerstone views the fall festival as a way to engage their community in a safe and healthy way.
“The primary goal of Fall Fest here at Cornerstone is to provide a safe atmosphere to show Christ’s love to our community,” says Dean Pryor.
Sarah’s passion for photography prompted her to put together a selfie booth decorated with a fall themed backdrop and creative costumes.
“I love for families to come and have fun — for free. I love to have the opportunity to show people that church is fun and Jesus is fun,” she says.
Another volunteer, Caitlin Mickel, has been volunteering at the fall fest with her parents for the last three years. Her family brought along their potbelly pigs, horses, and miniature donkey.
“I’ve seen others positively impacted by the smiles on their faces,” says Caitlin. “Just to see that makes my heart smile. I’m so glad I could make their day with our animals.”
The congregation hosts several community events throughout the year. Their next event is Trunk or Treat later this month. They hope to see 400 people attend, which would total 1,175 visitors to their church during the month of October.
[Connect:] Send Dean an encouraging note here.
This story appeared in GraceConnect eNews. To subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter that includes news and information from congregations in the Charis Fellowship, click here.