Four Churches Help Organize ‘National Night Out’ in Frederick

Four Chesapeake Conference churches recently came together to partner with Frederick city leaders to organize a National Night Out event for the community at Hill Street Park on Aug. 1. The Frederick Spanish, Frederick Cannaan Spanish, Middletown Valley (Jefferson, Md.), and Catoctin View (Thurmont, Md.) churches came together to help organize the event after city leaders contacted Adventist Community Services to ask for assistance.

National Night Out is a national community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships. More than 1,000 people attended the event.

While the city provided most of the funding, members from the four churches served the food and organized games and activities for the children, including a bounce house and foam machine. The city also permitted the churches to set up a booth to distribute evangelistic literature. 

According to Cesar Gonzalez, pastor of the Middletown Valley and Catoctin View churches, the event was an excellent opportunity for the churches to work together with city leaders and be visible in the community. “It was a beautiful thing to smile at people and to be standing there with a sign that says, ‘Sponsored by the Adventist Church,”’ Gonzalez said. He added, “People knew who we were; it was really wonderful.”