Autumn is typically heavy with CONNECT events where multigenerational folks gather for fun, food, and fellowship. We call them CONNECT events because the desired outcomes include connecting with our community to begin and/or build relationships with one another on campus which we hope will grow into a saving knowledge of Christ through faith formation.

The CONNECT event fall schedule looks like this:
August – Tailgate Party
September – Fall Life Groups in full swing
October – RoundUp
November – Friendsgiving
December – Live Nativity

Friendsgiving has become one of our most anticipated annual gatherings. Held the Wednesday before Thanksgiving week from 6–8pm, it all begins with small groups of servants—Ambassadors, staff, the décor team, Confirmation Class, and the kitchen crew—arriving in waves starting at 3pm to stage the space. Everything on campus is cancelled to yield to this CONNECT event. It’s a giant potluck, and we provide the turkey, dressing, and gravy for 200 prepared and delivered by a local chef so the whole event is a generous, free gift to our community.

Tables were covered in long sheets of brown paper, inviting all ages of the staging team to write Scripture, doodle place settings, and get creative while a Thanksgiving playlist played in the background. It was slow and peaceful—simple beauty in motion.

This year we also cut the food line time in half since we:

  1. Set up two self-serving lines on opposite sides of the room using thin tables lined up to serve down both sides, with food arranged one-row deep, so the line could keep moving.
  2. Used 10-inch plates so folks could easily come back for seconds.
  3. Placed desserts in their own room with spoons and dessert paper plates.
  4. Offered iced water at a dedicated station near the kitchen with various sized cups.

Live acoustic guitar music welcomed guests and filled the room while people visited and waited in line for food. We ate with background, Bluetooth speaker music, then another live song to transition to Thanksgiving Bingo joyfully led by our 4th–5th grade Ambassadors, complete with Kroger gift cards as prizes. The Bingo cards came from Teachers Pay Teachers, and each player received Honey Nut Cheerios as playing pieces—sorted ahead of time by the Ambassadors themselves in 3oz paper cups on a cart.

We played three rounds: the classic straight line of 5-in-a-row, the four corners, and finally a cross. As the Ambassadors learned to speak confidently into the microphone, the room shifted between bursts of laughter and attentive silence waiting for the next item to be called. It was delightful.

If kids eat quickly, we had a station for putting together the throws for the upcoming local Christmas parade. Many hands make for light work as we prepared 1500 throws with candy and notices to promote the Live Nativity & Christmas Eve service. This is an intern-led project.

Our people—and our community—came ready to talk, connect, and share the evening together. The table-life was rich.

And every one of our desired outcomes came to life:

  1. Personal connection—the tables were wonderfully long and full, starting and growing relationships with one another.
  2. Shared generosity—the abundance of food, desserts, and supplies overflowed.
  3. Servant-hearted skill-building—children and youth led, decorated, staged, spoke, and served.
  4. Shared cultural traditions—our Spanish-speaking church family on campus brought food and joined wholeheartedly in every moment.
  5. Active invitation—19% of attendees came through personal invites from our church family.

I truly believe the Lord loves a good party. The seven Old Testament feasts show us that God delights in His people gathering—on purpose, with purpose, around meaningful food and holy remembrance. There’s something sacred about sharing life around a table filled with delicious food, remembering our spiritual heritage, nurturing meaningful relationships, and glad hearts.

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46–47