'Community Day' set to spread nationwide

Redland Baptist Church's attempts to share the love of Jesus were threatened when its 2008 trip to Mexico fizzled because of travel risks.

Instead the Valdosta, Ga., church may have started a movement when they decided that year to host their first-ever Community Day.

Six years later, close to 100 South Georgia Baptist churches launched an effort to help seven church planters throughout North America host similar events.

"Community Day is everything a family needs," Jay Watkins, pastor of Redland Baptist, said. "We give [food, medical care, etc.] to families with the love of Christ. It opens doors for us to tell them what Christ has done in us and through us, with people we wouldn't normally come into contact with."

Watkins said 25,000 people attended the last Community Day in Valdosta in April 2013. More than 60 Valdosta-area churches participated in the event sponsored by the Valdosta Baptist Association. More than 70,000 local residents have been served through the event, and 1,000 people have come to Christ since the first Community Day in 2008. Keep reading