Local music minister Scott Underwood said he had been brainstorming for several months about a way to bring area churches together for a night of community worship.
What he finally came up with, with the help of other area music ministers, was a special event that will be held in conjunction with this year’s Franklin County Watermelon Festival weekend.
“Unified,” a free community concert and time of worship, will be held Sunday, Aug. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Russellville High School Auditorium.
Underwood, who serves as the music minister at Calvary Baptist Church in Russellville, said there are several churches who have already committed to participate in the event.
“Our church, Calvary Baptist, is joining with First Baptist Church-Russellville, First United Methodist Church-Russellville and Tharptown Baptist Church to be part of this event,” Underwood said.
“But we are inviting all area churches to come out and join us. Small communities like the one we live in can often be competition-driven, but churches should never be part of that. We want to create an atmosphere of unity and come together to worship the Lord.”
Underwood said there are several artists lined up to be part of the concert, one of which is Russellville native and Grammy award nominated songwriter Sam Mizell, who just completed his first album.
“We are very excited to welcome Sam Mizell and his wife back to the area for this special event,” Underwood said.
“We will also have The Martins, who are a Southern gospel group, and Charlotte Richey, who was frequently on the Gaither homecoming specials.”
Underwood said there would also be a time of prayer for the community and other praise and worship songs, some of which will be in Spanish.
“We think this is something that many people will be able to enjoy,” Underwood said.
“And hopefully, this will just be the first of several similar events we hope to have in the future.”