NORBORNE, Mo. – The members of Union Baptist Church in Norborne, Mo., were brimming with excitement and faithfulness as they shared Jesus with their community. The church had a booth at the Norborne Soybean Festival, and they participated in the parade.
“We wanted this to be evangelistic,” Zachary Hawkins, pastor, said. “We wanted the kids to get involved too, so we handed out tracts, necklaces and bracelets that included the different colors to show the Roman Road.”
“During the parade,” Hawkins continued, “we handed out more than a thousand of the mini-Jesus figures, because we had a large one on our float. The children ran along the parade route and handed out the small figures.”
Brian Tarr, member of Green Valley Baptist Church in St. Joseph, grew up in the Union Baptist Church, and his mom is still a member. Tarr returned to town to drive the four-wheeler with the large Jesus in the parade.
“It was so much fun,” Tarr said, “having fun and sharing Christ is a great combination. It was exciting to hear all the excitement along the parade route. Lots of the kids, when they got the mini-Jesus in their hands, they would show it to mom and dad. Just seeing their faces light up was a lot of fun. Many people gave us a thumbs up as we drove along. It was lots of fun to go back and see everybody.”
Participating in the Festival was good visibility for the church because it was the only church in the parade.
Hawkins reports that the Soybean Festival is a highlight for the region.
“Almost everyone in the area attends,” he said. “They have all kinds of activities and vendors come together for this Festival. They had a watermelon eating contest that my son participated in.”
“We wanted to share Jesus to the community, and this is one of the largest gatherings of people in our community,” Hawkins shared. “We wanted them to see in action the message of the cross. It was wonderful to hear people cheering Jesus as we drove along.”
