Three churches recently joined hands to fulfill a vision of providing help and salvation to the community.

Starting with a tent revival from Wednesday through Saturday nights and ending in a “fun day,” complete with food from the grill, a bouncy house and tables loaded with clothes and shoes for anyone in need, the event was designed to reach out to those who, through whatever circumstances, might not feel comfortable walking into church.

“Our primary need is saving souls for Christ, find someone who’s lost,” said Bishop Eddie Smith, of Highest Praise and Worship Center in Washington. “Since they won’t come to the church, we’ve got to go to them. … You’ve got all types of people — (whether it’s) alcohol, drugs, people who are lost — a lot of people like that won’t come into a church, but they will walk under a tent.”

Smith joined forces with Pastor Antwan Horton, of Kingdom Life Church in Washington, and Apostle Lorraine Morning, of Restore and Outreach in Vanceboro, to make that happen with a nightly tent revival that brought in crowds of more than 200 people each night. The environment, though rooted in faith, allowed passersby to join in with no pressure, according to Horton.

“Some of them are fearful of being judged,” Horton said. “The non-traditional takes us outside of the walls. Tradition keeps us in the four walls. We serve a big God, but we serve God in a box — non-traditional (services) take us out of the box.”

Morning’s organization collected donations of clothes, shoes and other necessary items to give away at fun day Saturday morning. To her, the combination of events was a way to provide both faith and support.

“It was a need for our community and (a way) to bring people together,” Morning said.

The three churches plan to continue working together to take faith to those most in need, Horton said, which will include a repeat of the tent revival and fun day next year.