To the delight of several hundred attendees, Lakepoint Community Church brought back their ServeFest event Sunday, Aug. 28 at Keizer Community Center.
Professionals, volunteers and neighbors came from all over the region to donate their time and expertise in an effort to serve and interact with the community, and even enjoy some live music.
The indoor-outdoor event included the community center meeting area, where they had satellite gaming set up for kids, a table to get a free manicure and even a portrait studio.
The indoor-outdoor event included the community center meeting area, where they had satellite gaming set up for kids, a table to get a free manicure, and a professional portrait studio. The rest of the event was spread out over most of Chalmers Jones Park and included a variety of booths where people could obtain free items, services, information, and the church’s worship team performed live from the gazebo.
“We brought the whole family from Salem,” said Oscar Martinez, who attended with his wife Maria and four children. “This is really special to see so many people willing to come out and donate their time like this, we’re really thankful.”
Lakepoint Community Church held the first ServeFest in 2006, when Pastor Rachel Taylor and her leadership team decided to “be the church” for at least one day per year.
“We were looking around for ways we could get our congregation out the pews and into the community to serve, and it grew from there,” said Taylor.
COVID prevented the church from holding the event for the past two years, but prior to that it was regularly attended by as many as 4,000 people. It grew from a few professionals offering haircuts and medical care to several dozen people and organizations donating their time.
Even in a post-COVID era, Taylor said they had some minor difficulty in scheduling all the requested services, such as haircuts for adults. Taylor said that while those weren’t offered this year, she plans to bring them back next year.