“Back to Church Sunday,” part of a national movement of churches across America, will be held at First Baptist Church in Dunkirk at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Since it started as a call to action and invitation for the church in 2009, the National Back to Church Sunday movement marks its 10th year and continues gain momentum. More than 5 million Christ followers have participated through 30,000 churches! It is a day focused on uniting the church to equip and empower members to be inviters. Eight out of 10 people say they are open to visiting church if invited – they are just waiting for an invitation.

For Back to Church Sunday, First Baptist Church – Dunkirk will have a special service that features exciting worship, an encouraging message from the Bible, with nursery and Kids Church.

Pastor Mark Massaro is celebrating his first anniversary with First Baptist later this month. “First Baptist has been an important part of this community for over a hundred years. I am excited to be here in Dunkirk and looking forward to seeing our church continue to reach out into our community with God’s love and the Gospel message” said Pastor Mark.

Back to Church Sunday has a new theme this year, “You Belong Here,” that is so relevant to the felt need in today’s culture. The fact is that 75 percent of Americans admit to feeling deep loneliness. In addition, the number of Americans with no close friends has tripled since 1985.

Participating churches believe that there has never been a better time than now for people to come back and get plugged in to a church that offers friendships, opportunities to serve the community, and the chance to grow spiritually through a journey of personal faith.

First Baptist Church will also honor local community heroes following the Sept. 11 Patriot Day national observance. “We see our police officers, firefighters, EMTs and others risking their lives for our safety. We see them taking our kids out for donuts and Christmas shopping. We see them collecting for numerous charities. We see them offering movies and games in the Washington Park. Now we want to give something back to them and we want our community to be part of that recognition. We will be honoring all attending community heroes during the worship service and then offering a free meal, with games and prizes afterwards,” said Pastor Mark.

First Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church located at 876 Central Ave. in Dunkirk. For more information, go to www.DunkirkBaptist.org or call 366-6634.