Love Revival, First Baptist Partner for Free Labor Day Community Cookout

Two Front Royal churches are joining forces for a free Labor Day celebration designed to give local families an evening of food, games, and fun while continuing a growing partnership focused on serving young people and the community.

Love Revival and First Baptist Church will host a Labor Day Cookout from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 7 at Love Revival on Chester Street in Front Royal. The event is free and open to everyone.

In this Town Talk, Nathan Barron of Love Revival and Michael Williams of First Baptist Church shared details about the upcoming celebration and how the two congregations are working together to serve the Front Royal community.

The evening will feature hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, water, yard games and free ice cream from C&C Frozen Treats. Children will also have a combination bounce house and water slide to enjoy.

“There’s no cost to the public,” Williams said.

The cookout follows another joint effort this summer when several area churches worked together on Vacation Bible School in July.

Williams said Love Revival, First Baptist, and local Presbyterian, Lutheran and Episcopal congregations came together for the program. Activities included a visit from the fire department and plenty of opportunities for children to have fun together.

For Williams, those partnerships are more important than which congregation receives recognition.

“I don’t care who gets the credit,” he said. “I care that children know that they’re loved and that they’re valued.”

That same approach is behind the Labor Day event, which is intended to provide families with an informal place to meet others and enjoy an evening together without worrying about admission costs.

The partnership also extends beyond community celebrations.

Barron said Love Revival’s food pantry continues to operate, and the organization recently completed a summer backpack program aimed at helping children and families who might otherwise have difficulty getting enough food while school is out.

The program served roughly 40 to 60 families each week, he said.

Because some recipients were staying in motels or cars without access to a full kitchen, organizers focused on nonperishable foods that could be eaten without an oven or extensive preparation.

Barron, who works with children and youth at Love Revival, is also helping develop local chapters of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or FCA, at Warren County’s two high schools.

He said four students had signed up at Skyline High School and about 10 to 12 at Warren County High School, with organizers expecting participation to grow as students learn about the program.

Barron described the effort as student-led Bible studies within the schools.

Williams said First Baptist is also supporting that work and providing additional opportunities for young people to gather.

The church has added large-screen televisions in its fellowship hall and has a karaoke machine available, with the idea of creating a place where young people can watch movies, socialize, and spend time together.

“These are safe places for kids to come, have drop-in once in a while and have a safe place to just be kids,” Williams said.

He said churches also have to recognize that teenagers’ schedules today can make traditional programming difficult. Between athletics, travel teams, jobs and other responsibilities, young people may not always be available for conventional Sunday programs.

Williams sees efforts such as FCA and informal youth activities as another way of reaching them.

The approach is similar to community policing — creating opportunities for people to become comfortable with an organization outside its more formal setting.

The Labor Day cookout follows that same idea. While organized by local churches, the focus is on bringing people together in a relaxed setting for an evening of food, games and family activities.

Barron said the event will include plenty for families to do, from yard games to the water slide, while C&C Frozen Treats will provide ice cream.

The organizers hope the celebration will also demonstrate what can happen when local congregations and organizations pool their resources instead of working separately.

For Williams, the goal is straightforward: give children and families a welcoming place where they know they matter.

The Love Revival and First Baptist Labor Day Cookout will be held Sept. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Love Revival on Chester Street in Front Royal. Admission, food, and activities are free, and the event is open to the community.

Town Talk, sponsored by National Media Services, Inc., is a Royal Examiner series that introduces you to local entrepreneurs, business owners, nonprofit leaders, and public officials who help shape Warren County. Conversations cover a wide range of topics about our community and the people making a difference.