Recreation ministry is the goal for one Walnut Grove church, and the plan is to build a half-million-dollar gym to achieve it. 

Woodlake Baptist Church hosted its inaugural Leaving a Legacy Car Show & Spring Fling on Saturday. The church organized the fundraising event for the new facility.

Woodlake Baptist Church owns the 45-acre property located on Hwy138 and has paid off 65 percent of the loan obtained to build the church. 

Senior Pastor Jerry Grey said it would be ideal to raise the money for the gym instead of incurring more debt.

The new gym will aid that ministry by providing a space for children in the area to participate in sports like volleyball, soccer, and basketball in a devotional context. He believes recreation ministry is a great way to socialize kids, teach them manners and introduce them to Christ.

The church already has an archery ministry, which Grey said is a popular sport in the area. Now he wants to build upon the Upward Bound basketball and soccer programs to draw more families to the church. 

“It’s an outreach to the community for us to reach people for Christ,” Grey said. 

He said everything the church does is a form of outreach. Saturday’s car show was a prime example of the church’s outreach efforts.

Eddie Eidson of Social Circle participated in the show, and he’s entered many other car shows over the years. The number of participants amazed Eidson. 

“Typically, there’s 50 or fewer cars at a first-year car show,” Eidson said. 

With nearly 150 cars and trucks, organizers said the turnout was better than they expected.

The Leaving a Legacy Car Show & Spring Fling brought more than just cars. Those in attendance enjoyed music, food and activities for the kids. 

The church members brought plants and small trees for sale, along with free pocket Bibles. 

Vendors also set up booths with various goods and services for sale.

Mary Kay sales director Serena Emerson was one of the vendors at the Leaving a Legacy car show. She said the event was a great way to generate leads, plus it gave the community the opportunity to interact with each other. 

“You never know how someone might be impacted,” Emerson said. 

One person impacted is her teammate who joined her on Saturday to work at the event. Emerson said her teammate is now considering joining the church.

After judges tallied all the votes, David Sewell’s 1955 Chevy Bel Air took the top award for being best in the show. Judges also recognized the top 15 cars.

Before Saturday’s event, the church had already raised $20,000 for the gym fund. The proceeds from the car show will add to that amount. 

Grey said there will be other opportunities to help with their goal, including a garage sale later this year.

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