Video: Youth Rally in Starkville Goes on Despite Church Fire

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The Starkville Church of Christ had a small, kitchen fire on Friday morning but that didn’t stop the church from hosting their annual youth rally.

“I grew up in Starkville so this is one of the few things that I really get to look forward to every year,” says Brian Roberts, a rally participant.

Brian Roberts is just one of the hundreds of young people who gathered this weekend for a youth rally at the Starkville Church of Christ. Despite the kitchen fire that threatened to cancel the event, the show went on as planned.

“Luckily it was localized to the upstairs portion and sense we are the church and this church building is just where we meet, we found a way to continue on with our studies, with ur singing, with our activities. We moved down to our student center here at the bottom and everything is going really well,” says Wesley Thompson, the Youth Pastor at Starkville Church of Christ.

This year’s rally theme is Discover the Church. Youth are encouraged to get involved in the church and learn to apply God’s word to their lives. The rally is also held during MSU’s homecoming weekend and gives teens like Roberts a look at the college campus.

“It’s a great experience for those who are seniors. We get to experience the campus but also it’s a great time to spiritually grow,” says Roberts.

There were 15 different congregations from around the state including Greenville, Greenwood, Ridgeland and Batesville.

The Discover the Church Youth Rally gathered about 300 young people for this weekend’s event.