When Pastor Kevin Rogers and wife Verndella Rogers started City of Faith Christian Center in Lakewood 21 years ago, they went into it knowing that they wanted their church and ministry to be more than a place of fellowship and worship. They wanted it to also be a resource for the broader community, and one of the ways they made this happen was through organizing a free back-to-school event for their underserved local neighbors. Now in its 18th year, they’ve added "tri-counties” to the "Back to School Bash” name, as it has grown beyond what Pastor Kevin and First Lady Verndella could have ever imagined.

"When we started, the first one we had 23 kids show up. We didn’t have sponsors or vendors. Me and my wife and some of the church members were doing this out of pocket, buying school supplies and donating them,” Pastor Kevin said. "We consistently kept doing it and last year we served almost 1,200 kids. What we found last year is that we had people coming from three counties. Anybody who needs help can come.” 

That consistency in holding the event led to donations coming in from a variety of sources and it now takes a full year for the team to organize the Back to School Bash. With today’s high prices for everything from food to gas, they’re expecting more families than ever this year. The best part is that there are no requirements for families to take part – no proof of income, no proof of residency or district enrollment – people are invited to just come as they are from wherever they are. You don’t have to be a member of a church and Pastor Kevin does not use the event as a way to grow his congregation either. He, Verndella and the people of their faith ministry just want to help people from all walks of life.

This year’s Back to School Bash happens on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at City of Faith Christian Center, 11011 Occident St. SW, Lakewood. Families are invited to round up the kids and come get prepared for a new schoolyear, and everything is free: 2,000 brand new backpacks stuffed with school supplies, haircuts, lots of prizes, lunch, fun and games, bouncy houses and face painting. 

  Officers with the Lakewood Police Department attend every year to give safety tips to young students and their families.

The folks that bring the Back to School Bash go the extra mile to make sure each child has exactly what he or she needs for their specific grade by getting supply lists directly from schools. It takes the church members about 10 days to put everything together in backpacks, and an overflow stock is on hand just in case. 

Healthcare workers from MultiCare and Community Health Care will provide immunizations and sports physicals, and a nutritionist will be on hand with information and practical advice on how families can eat healthier. 

Personnel from the Lakewood Police Department and West Pierce Fire and Rescue will be there as well, as they have been for about the past 15 years. Officers and firefighters alike talk to the youngsters about how to keep safe from strangers and other dangers, and kids can have a chance to experience what it’s like to sit inside a real firetruck.

Everything at the Back to School Bash is about opening young people’s minds to all the possibilities before them in life. This is why Pastor Kevin brings in science labs where little students can take part in experiments and learn about STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), areas of study that are not always readily available in underserved communities. 

"One of my main focuses with this is to serve that underserved community, and the first part is education,” as Pastor Kevin explained. "Education is not the same in certain communities. We partnered with a couple schools in Lakewood, and I found out that 90 percent of the families in those schools live under the poverty rate. We just want to be a blessing to help some of the parents and the kids and that’s why we started doing a lot of this.”

  Pastor Kevin Rogers and wife Verndella Rogers have been community leaders through their City of Faith Christian Center for more than 20 years.

A former network engineer for Weyerhaeuser and Verizon following his more than 10 years serving in the Army, Pastor Kevin knows firsthand how impactful it can for children see what they can do when someone takes the time and care to show them. 

He and Verndella, who have been married for 30 years, grew up in a small Alabama town of 2,300 people and neither of them knew of the great things they would be doing later in life.

"I didn’t think all of this was going to transpire when I left Alabama when I was 18 to join the Army. That’s how it is when I see these kids now. They can be someone that just needs that hand up and their imagination opened up,” Pastor Kevin said. "In the urban underserved communities, a lot of the kids aren’t interested in technology because they don’t have that level of technology in their school system that they have in other communities.

"I don’t want to be a church that’s taking up space. I want to help empower and open up people’s imagination and not just on spiritual things but on their potential. God put potential in everybody, and it has to be stirred up.”  

He can see in the children’s faces how excited they are to get their school supplies and start the year off right. Adults making back to school a big deal leads the little ones to see that it’s a big deal too, and this is how City of Faith Christian Center is a leader in building bright futures for families who don’t always get the same opportunities as more affluent communities. 

"If you could see the faces of these kids when they get their backpacks – they’re just walking around smiling and it’s just amazing how they light up,” he said. 

Pastor Kevin has more ideas on how City of Faith Christian Center can have an even bigger embrace. The church is already holding job fairs and giving away free groceries, including meat and fresh produce, once a month in partnership with St. Leo Food Connection. The pastor is looking to also establish a free learning center and free community health clinic in the near future. 

"One of the things I learned about the families and these communities is that it’s not that they don’t work but they’re either single parents or they have to choose between keeping a roof over their head. We want to help alleviate some of that. I know that’s unconventional for a church but I’m an unconventional person.”

Learn more about City of Faith Christian Center at cityoffaithcc.org and for more information on the Back to School Bash, call (253) 722-5265. 

City of Faith Christian Center Back to School Bash – August 27, 2022, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

·                MultiCare Nurse (BP & Health resources)

·                Community Health Plan of Washington

·                 Department of Children, Youth & Families

·                West Pierce Fire and Rescue  

·                BJ’s Beauty & Barber College

·                Safety Presentation – Lakewood Police Department  

·                Lots of prizes and drawings