On Sunday evening, the Washington Street parking lot looked a little different than usual. A 1954 Chevrolet sat proudly on display, the Jetsons had landed somewhere near the trunk-or-treat line, and familiar television theme songs filled the air as superheroes, princesses, and cartoon characters made their way through the crowd.
Children hurried from game to game, collecting candy and prizes along the way. Families enjoyed rides, food, and freshly roasted marshmallows, while others gathered around the cakewalk, hoping to take home something sweet.
It was Fall Festival, one of First Baptist’s favorite annual traditions, and this year, more than 1,000 people from our church and surrounding community came together for an evening of fun and fellowship.
But behind the colorful costumes, creative decorations, and countless pieces of candy was something even more meaningful: a church family coming together to share the love of Christ with their neighbors.
For longtime church member Jim Parks, Fall Festival is a tradition that stretches back decades.
“I remember the initial Fall Festival we had in the old library, which would have been 35 years ago,” Parks recalled.
These days, he enjoys experiencing the festivities through the eyes of his grandchildren, whom he has brought for the past eight or nine years.
His granddaughter Vivian has a particular favorite: the cakewalk.
“I always win usually,” she said confidently, remembering a previous year when she and her brothers collected three cakes between them. They even gave one away.
For Parks, however, the greatest reward isn’t measured in candy or cake.
“Just the effort our church family puts on for the community,” he said. “A lot of effort, a lot of labor, and a lot of money to bring people to see a different side of First Baptist Church.”
It’s an investment he believes is well worth making, particularly because it creates opportunities “to bring people to a church that they might not ever come to.”
That sense of family and connection was echoed by Mark and Payten Beacham, who attended with their children.
“Really brings the family together, and you get to see your friends from church and their kids from church that you normally wouldn’t see outside of the church,” Mark shared.
Payten agreed, adding that the festival offers families an opportunity to meet new people, enjoy time together, and invite others to church.
For their children, the evening was a little more straightforward. Games, surprises, Legos, and, of course, candy were among the highlights.
Nearby, the Molina family was enjoying a tradition of their own. Having attended Fall Festival for years, Sandy and Alonzo Molina remembered bringing their children when they were much younger.
Now, as the children have grown, the tradition continues. For Nevaeh, one of the evening’s greatest pleasures was roasting marshmallows until they were thoroughly charred, then eating the crispy results.
Beyond the marshmallows and candy, the family appreciated having a welcoming place where people of all ages could gather and enjoy the evening together.
This year’s Fall Festival featured 25 trunks hosted by our members, each bringing its own personality to the evening. From elaborate decorations and costumes to interactive games and recognizable pop culture references, the creativity on display was remarkable.
For Dana and DJ Smith, hosting a trunk has become a family tradition of its own.
Over the past four or five years, the Smiths have partnered with the Lucas family to create memorable experiences inspired by movies and television shows. Their past themes have included Top Gun, The Princess Bride, Minions, and Alice in Wonderland.
This year, they traveled into the future with a trunk inspired by The Jetsons, complete with a sprocket-toss game based on George Jetson’s workplace.
But the decorations were only part of the experience.
“I think it’s just getting to see the kids and the people in the community,” DJ explained, “and just seeing different faces I’ve never seen before.”
For Dana, the opportunity to connect with families is what makes the work worthwhile.
“It’s fun because you get to be kind of creative,” she said. “And then also, you know, just talking to them, making people feel loved on.”
The Smiths also make a point of connecting their themes to biblical truth. This year’s futuristic display included a message encouraging visitors to make space for Jesus in their lives, drawing inspiration from Jeremiah 29:11.
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Perhaps even more meaningful is how their own children have grown through the experience. Once young festival goers themselves, the older kids now take shifts helping operate the family’s trunk.
“To see how the older ones are kind of talking to the little ones and how they’re encouraging them,” Dana reflected, “it’s almost like a giving back because, you know, they run around and play for a couple years and now they’re back here doing that.”
What began as a fun family activity has become an opportunity to teach the next generation the joy of serving others.
Not far from the trunk-or-treating, Danny Carter was keeping the festivities moving with music, laughter, and the ever-popular cakewalk.
Now in his third consecutive year as the festival’s DJ, Danny says the event is unlike anything else he does.
“Out of all the things that I DJ, whether it’s weddings or homecomings or anything like that, this is not like any of those,” he explained. “It’s a time for me to just be goofy and silly, play fun theme songs.”
His playlist isn’t entirely planned in advance, either.
As Danny spots characters like Charlie Brown, Pikachu, and the Mandalorian moving through the crowd, he adjusts his music to match.
“That gives me my inspiration,” he said, explaining that he wants everyone to feel included in the fun.
Elsewhere in the parking lot, another attraction was drawing attention from visitors young and old: a collection of classic cars brought by church members.
Among them was a beautifully restored 1954 Chevrolet 210 belonging to Philip Gregory.
The car carries a remarkable family history. Gregory’s father purchased it new when Philip was just four years old, and he still remembers accompanying his parents to the dealership. A decade later, his father handed him the keys, and Gregory drove the Chevrolet throughout high school from 1964 to 1968.
After sitting in a field for nearly 20 years, the car eventually became a long-term restoration project, one Gregory began in the 1980s. Today, it’s a piece of family history he enjoys sharing with others.
Gregory first began bringing his cars to Fall Festival several years ago after Children’s Minister Rev. Christopher Gooding saw his collection during a Vacation Bible School gathering at Gregory’s home.
Since then, Phil has helped recruit other church members to bring their classic vehicles, adding another unique attraction to the festivities.
But like so many of the evening’s volunteers, his motivation is simple.
“I just enjoy watching the kids have a good time,” Phil said.
He and his wife also serve with Good News Club at Meadowfield Elementary School, where they distributed Fall Festival invitations to children they’ve been witnessing to for the past few weeks.
It’s another example of how the relationships built through our outreach ministries can extend beyond Sunday mornings and into the surrounding community.
With rides, games, food, music, and dozens of volunteers, this year’s Fall Festival was a tremendous undertaking.
From the teams welcoming families at registration to those operating games, distributing tickets, preparing and serving food, hosting trunks, and helping throughout the evening, the event represented weeks of preparation and the generosity of a church family willing to serve.
Special appreciation goes to Rev. Christopher Gooding and other staff members and volunteers whose planning and dedication helped make the evening possible.
Yet for Dana Smith, the reason for all that effort goes far beyond putting on a successful event.
“If they drive by us every day on the way to work and then we’re not reaching that community, it’s like, why are we here and how is the Lord going to use us?” she asked.
She sees volunteering as an opportunity to use the gifts God has given each person, whether that’s creativity, time, hospitality, or simply a willingness to welcome someone new.
“You might not know every single person that comes through here, but if they see the joy, it’s contagious,” she said.
That joy was evident throughout the evening, from children proudly showing off their candy collections to grandparents making memories, families serving together, and a community getting to see a different side of our church.
For some visitors, Fall Festival may have been their first experience with us. For others, it was another chapter in a family tradition stretching back years, or even generations.
Whatever brought them through the gates, they found more than a parking lot filled with activities. They found a church family eager to welcome them.
And perhaps that’s the most meaningful part of Fall Festival. Behind every decorated trunk, every game, and every friendly conversation is an opportunity to show our community that we are a church family that genuinely wants to know them. But even more than that, we want them to know Jesus, the One who knows them already and loves them more deeply than we ever could.
Special thanks to Dana and DJ Smith, Danny Carter, Jim Parks and his grandchildren Vivian and Thomas, Mark and Payten Beacham, Philip Gregory, and Sandy, Alonzo, and Nevaeh Molina for sharing their experiences, memories, and perspectives on this year’s Fall Festival. Their stories and reflections helped capture the joy, fellowship, and spirit of service that make this annual tradition such a meaningful opportunity to share Christ’s love with our community.