Year after year, friends and even strangers get together under one roof to share a holiday meal. At Champion Life Church. the yearly meal has turned into a community reunion.

Head Pastor James Baldwin explained, “They are sitting with people they don’t know, and they are getting to know people that are their neighbors or people across town, people they’ve never met before. It’s neat to see the conversations and a lot of people have made friendships is they come every year looking for people that they saw last year.”

For Tonya Koch, it’s a family affair. All of her kids join her in volunteering. She said, “I want them to learn to give to the community and help out and to have a caring heart. “

Volunteers serve food restaurant style, taking visitors’ orders. While she’s helping serve meals, Koch feels like she’s getting more. 

She detailed, “I just love it! It just warms my heart to see my children helping out and giving to the community and seeing people smile. It’s what I’m about. Everybody leaving with a smile on their face.”  

Baldwin doesn’t have a line in the church’s budget for this meal. They rely on the generosity of the community. Baldwin believes this means more than just food . To him, it means having someone there for you on the holidays. 

He explained, “Some people are just lonely this time of year, so, it’s just our way of letting them know that they are not alone and just to give them some hope and joy. We’re excited about what’s going on here in our city and the people are so appreciative.”

The church is now accepting donations for their City-Wide Christmas Dinner as well as their Christmas for 100 Kids where they will give gifts for the children of the city.