‘Love Out Loud’ event kicks off June 21

The Neshoba County Baptist Association will hold the second annual week-long worship and community service event known as Love Out Loud next week. 

This year’s Love Out Loud events will begin at 8 a.m. each day starting Monday, June 21 and lasting through Friday, June 25. Each day will begin with a light breakfast followed by a praise, worship and devotion session from 8:15 to 8:45 a.m. at the Neshoba Baptist Center, 903 Valley View Drive.

After the worship services are over each day, the attendees will split into groups to go out into the community to do community projects. 

"We will dismiss groups to various ministry sites throughout the city and county," said David Addy director for the Neshoba County Baptist Association.

Ministry projects will be completed by noon each day and will include giving away clothing at the Baptist Center, writing letters to soldiers overseas, working with the local Open Arms ministry preparing food bags and helping with painting and landscaping at parks.

Love Out Loud volunteers also will be supplying crafts to nursing homes and assisted living facilities, including Neshoba Nursing Home, Choctaw Residential, New Beginnings, Atwood and Beehive, where they will hand out goody bags and lead singing and dancing. 

Love Out Loud volunteers also will help renovate the parks, including Burnside Park, Northside Park, Westside Park, Neshoba Lake and DeWeese Park, by painting, cleaning up and collecting used sports equipment to be donated to the parks. 

Judy Bates, a Love Out Loud volunteer who headed up the last registration, is looking forward to helping the community at this year's event. 

"I love seeing the community come together," Bates said. 

Bates said this year will include new projects such as writing letters to soldiers and donating beds. 

Love Out Loud will also sell merchandise such as T-shirts and hats. 

"Anyone in the community is welcome to come,” Bates said. “Registration is free, and there will be free breakfast throughout the event.” 

Speakers throughout the week will include Dr. Fred Luther, the senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Church in New Orleans, who served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2012 and 2013, and Michael Fredrick, a worship leader based out of Kosciusko who is known for passionately leading Gospel-saturated worship sessions that lead people to Christ.