Freeman Community Empowerment History
Freeman Community Day was established in 2014 through a vision of Pastor James T. Nicholson to meet the needs of the community and make a positive impact on Brunswick and Greensville Counties. Pastor Nicholson shared the vision with his congregation at First Church of Christ (Holiness) – Freeman and the planning processed quickly developed. To ensure the effort was carried out well, Pastor Nicholson requested the help of First Baptist Church of Freeman, VA under the leadership of Pastor Michael Walker to work along with First Church of Christ (Holiness). In unity, the two churches hosted the first Freeman Community Day on Saturday, September 20, 2014 at the Inspiration Center (formerly Meljo’s). During this event, we provided school supplies to hundreds of local children & youth, connected the community to local resources through community vendors, provided free clothing and great live entertainment.
After the inaugural community day, several other Freeman and surrounding area churches expressed a desire to join the outreach effort. On Saturday, August 8, 2015, the 2nd Annual Freeman Community Day was hosted by First Baptist Church-Freeman, First Church of Christ (Holiness)-Freeman, New Hope RZUA Church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Union Bethel RZUA Church, Union Grove Church of Christ (DOC) – Emporia, and Zion Baptist Church – Purdy. Our efforts increased with our first car show and concert.
In 2016, the name of our event was officially changed to Freeman Community Empowerment Day. We were blessed to have Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Pleasant Grove Church of Christ Disciples of Christ and a non-profit organization, Coalition for Delaying Parenthood in Youth, join our effort. In 2017, WHLQ 105.5 Hot Joy Radio joined as our media sponsor and led our Gospel Stage. In the years following we have been fortunate to also add Cedar Grove Baptist Church, For His Glory Outreach Ministry, Mason Grove Baptist Church and Pleasant Hill Baptist Church to our team.
We are excited that the Freeman Community Empowerment Day continues to grow. We have doubled the number of families served. Our fully loaded book bags were given out to over 700 local students last year! With the support of our many sponsors and community vendors, we are grateful for the opportunity to collectively work together as a diverse group of community partners committed to spreading the gospel while uplifting and empowering our community.
