Loren Soares
What began as an ordinary 5K race became an evangelistic vision that required months of preparation, brought Seventh-day Adventist churches together across conference lines, and created new opportunities to connect with the community.
Phenix City, Ala., and Columbus, Ga., are neighboring communities closely connected by the Chattahoochee River. Yet, the Adventist churches serving the area belong to three different conferences. Phenix City Church is part of the Gulf States Conference, Columbus First and Columbus Hispanic churches are part of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, and New Bethel Church is part of the South Atlantic Conference.
The idea for the event began during a morning race. As hundreds of runners gathered around Omar Mantilla, pastor of Phenix City and Opelika churches, he realized that many of them probably had little or no connection with the Adventist Church. He began wondering: “What if the Church could create an event where Adventists from across the area could come together, speak with one voice, serve the community, and build relationships with people who might otherwise never walk through the doors of an Adventist church?” That question eventually became the You Matter 5K.
The You Matter 5K was designed to raise awareness about suicide prevention and mental and emotional health. September is National Suicide Prevention Month in the United States, a time when communities are encouraged to bring attention to suicide prevention and support those who may be struggling. For the organizers, however, this was more than a social cause. It was an opportunity to live out the Church’s mission.
The Adventist Church has a responsibility to serve people in their moments of need, and to offer hope, healing, and spiritual support. Mental and emotional struggles often create doors through which meaningful conversations about faith can begin. For this reason, the organizers saw the You Matter 5K as closely aligned with the Church’s mission to introduce people to Jesus.
From the beginning, the race was planned as an evangelistic event — not simply as a church-sponsored athletic activity.
To reach people beyond the Adventist community, organizers partnered with a professional sports-event company to promote and organize the race. This allowed the event to reach neighborhoods and audiences that Church members might not ordinarily encounter through traditional outreach.
The evangelistic vision continued after the race itself. Participants encountered information tables where they could learn more about the Adventist Church, upcoming community events, and the Pathfinder Club. They were also invited to submit prayer requests, creating opportunities for personal connections and follow-up.
The event also brought together community organizations, including veterans’ organizations and other sponsors, who shared resources and services available to local residents.
The goal was simple: serve first, build relationships, and create opportunities for people to encounter the Adventist message.
More than 200 people attended the event, with more than 180 runners officially registered for the race. More than 30 volunteers from the Adventist churches served throughout the morning, staffing water stations and assisting with registration, logistics, and other areas of the event.
The weather could not have been better. Under a bright September sun, runners made their way along portions of the Chattahoochee River, including the RiverWalk connecting Columbus and Phenix City. For church members and guests alike, it was a beautiful day of fellowship, service, and community engagement.
But, the impact went beyond the number of runners.
Local media coverage gave the Adventist Church exposure to people who had never interacted with the denomination. For some members, the event represented an opportunity to challenge misconceptions and introduce the community to an Adventist presence committed to serving its neighbors.
Several church members described the You Matter 5K as “the most successful evangelistic event in the community” in which they had participated, particularly because of the visibility it generated and the number of people outside the Adventist community it reached.
Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the event was not the race itself, but the collaboration behind it.
Pastors and members from churches belonging to three different conferences worked together toward a common purpose. Conference boundaries did not prevent cooperation; instead, the churches discovered what could happen when they focused on what they shared: a desire to serve their community and introduce people to Jesus.
The You Matter 5K demonstrated that evangelism does not always begin inside a church building. Sometimes it begins on a running trail, beside a river, at a water station, or through a simple conversation with a stranger who needs to know that they matter.
God blessed the efforts of the churches and opened doors that could not have been opened by any one congregation alone.
The race lasted only a few miles. The relationships and opportunities created that day, however, may go much farther.
Gulf States | November 2026
Comments are closed.