By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

CALERA— For the past six months, Pastor Josh Howell and his wife Jamie have been preparing for their first service at Lakehills Church by spreading the word and gauging interest.

Those months of preparation will pay off Jan. 24 when the congregation will officially meet for the first Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. at the NXS Gym in Calera.

“From the minute they walk in the door it will be a clean, safe environment for their kids,” Josh Howell said. “(It will be) a clean, friendly, welcoming area for them, because we want them to feel at home.”

The doors will open at 10 a.m. when kids can be checked in and attendees can enjoy coffee at a café in the gym. Howell said parents and children will have matching stickers to ensure safety during the service.

Seats will be set out on the artificial grass in the “dugout” area of NXS, and Howell said there will be live music and a large video screen set up. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m.

Howell said guests can expect a dynamic worship that leads into God’s presence, and a relevant message that hits good biblical-based points. The point is to meet people where they are, according to Howell, and to give people the opportunity to experience God’s presence. “(We want to) show them how to take God’s Word and apply it to what you are already doing,” he said.

Howell explained that people are active and busy, so that’s why the service is meant to show people how to take God with them throughout the week.

Services will start and end on time, Howell said, starting at 10:30 a.m. and running until 11:45 a.m.

The Lakehills Church team has already taken opportunities to get out into the community, as well, according to Howell. They had a booth set up during Columbiana’s Monster Walk and participated in Christmas parades in Calera and Columbiana.

Howell said they also gave out free pizza and drinks at the Piggly Wiggly in Columbiana and held a block party at Savannah Pointe neighborhood in Calera.

“We just want you to know that we care about you, that you are loved and that God loves you,” Howell said. “That’s our focus.”

For more information, visit Lakehillscalera.org.