Sadler Baptist Church opened its doors to the community on Saturday, Aug. 3, for its third annual back-to-school Splash Bash. During the event, each attendee was served cold drinks, hot dogs, chips and popsicles. Children were able to enjoy two huge water slides in the high summer temperatures. The highlight of the event was the backpacks. Parents lined up in front of the church doors with their children, eager to go inside and receive backpacks filled with school supplies.
Jessica Mason, Children’s Minister at Sadler Baptist Church, said for the first two years, the church has been able to fund the event, but this year the church had many join in efforts to help fill the backpacks to give away.
She said the first year the church gave away 25 backpacks, the second year 51 backpacks and this year has been the most they have been able to provide for the community. Mason said those that gave for this community outreach were the Gordonville Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary Team, the Rutledge family, Ship It And More, Simmons Bank, 4U Credit Union Bank in Whitesboro and Leapin’ Littles in Sherman.
The church created boxes and placed them at each of these local businesses. Patrons would donate supplies every day for the cause. When asked if this is something the church hopes to continue to bring to the community, Mason said yes.
“Hopefully we’ll continue to expand it each year,” she said.
“As long as we have a need and we have someone with the heart to meet that need, the church will do whatever it can to help meet that need,” Sadler Baptist Church Lead Pastor Jerry Henry said.
Henry said they will be donating school supplies to the elementary and middle schools in the S&S Consolidated Independent School District, and to Hayes Primary School in Whitesboro. Aside from the 120 backpacks given away during the event, Sadler Baptist Church also prepared an additional 25 bags (not backpacks) filled with school supplies for anyone in need.
In the upcoming months, Sadler Baptist Church will host Trunk-or-Treat on Sunday, October 27, from 4-6 p.m. The church also puts food baskets together for the community during November and December for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The purpose of the food baskets is to provide a meal for families in need.
Funded by donations, the church is able to provide gift cards to include in the food baskets to help families with any needs that might not fit in the baskets. The church is usually able to bless four families with baskets during the holiday season. Henry said they have a desire to give more, but they are a small church with a limited benevolence, but they give what they can throughout the year.
For those interested in attending, Sadler Baptist Church holds Sunday school every Sunday at 10 a.m. and church service at 11 a.m. for children and adults. Every second Sunday the church provides breakfast for all that attend and every fourth Sunday the church provides a meal after service.
Sadler Baptist Church will host a ‘Night of Worship’ on Saturday, August 17 at 7 p.m. The Diggles family from Kentucky will be leading worship that night. For more information and updates on events, follow Sadler Baptist Church on Facebook.