Fall Festival kicks off in two weeks

It’s so big, they have to block off the street.

Saturday Sept. 7, Newton Church of The Way will host its annual Fall Festival, kicking off a year of ministry and blessing the Newton community with free food and fellowship. Pastor Steve Heerma said he looks forward to the Fall Festival every year.

“Fall Festival is a couple of things,” Steve said. “It’s kind of a big welcoming event for people all over the community but it’s also the weekend that we begin our ministry year.”

Saturday night, the Fall Festival will kickoff the season of ministry with a sermon that night. The topic will be about living as a citizen of Heaven and what that means in context of the Bible. This message is brand new to the congregation and Steve.

“It’s just a fresh year,” Steve said.

Director of Discipleship and Leadership Development Betty Samson said the event is orientated for families and children and includes games and bounce houses.

“It just reaching out to the community,” Betty said. “We invite people in. We have a lot of families right here that drive by, and we invite them in.”

Betty said this is the fifth year The Way has hosted the event. Steve said he looks forward to being able to interact with everyone that attends.

“I just like seeing all the new people and all the people in community that come,” Steve said. “We’re going to have children’s rides and root beer floats. It’s just fun to do, to bless people.”

Steve said the event usually brings in about 500 people. They close off the street between the church and Aurora Heights Elementary School. The inflatable rides line the street for an entire day.

Food will also be served in what the church calls, “The Way Cafe.” All the food will be free, but, weather permitting, the food can be taken outside to enjoy the fall day.

Steve encourages everyone in the community to attend the Fall Festival, even if they’re not a member of his congregation.

“What we want to do is essentially bless the community,” Steve said. “Sometimes people think that if they come, especially if they’re not a churchgoer, they’re going to get mauled by the Evangelism police and it’s really about celebrating. As a church, we celebrate every year, and we just want to welcome people and love on them.”