Corbin Smith
Editorial Assistant

Christians and car enthusiasts alike gathered in the Northeast Athletic Fields behind SuperFlea on May 30 for the 16th Annual Concert and Car Show hosted by All Christians Together Serving (ACTS), KC Restoration Church and Hope City.

The event, previously held at Blue Valley Park, hosted free horse rides, food, music and flashy cars from around the area. Despite moving locations, Pastor Ignacio Gonzalez was happy with the amount of people who attended.

“This is a Christian event to lift up the name of the Lord and talk to the community,” Gonzalez said. “This is the first time we’ve done it at this park and we have probably more than 40 cars. We wanted to bring everybody together and bring peace.”

The lot was filled with custom trucks, vans and cars as people from all across Kansas City came to share their love for automobiles. At one point, there were more cars than the venue could fit, and the bottleneck entryway had to be supervised when drivers realized there would be no place to park.

The cars might have been the main attraction, but it certainly wasn’t the only one. Tents for various religious and health awareness organizations were stationed along the grass lot for guests to interact with and learn about furthering their faith or well-being.

Rebecca McCorn, a teacher from the Grandview School District, came to experience the festivities and do her part in sharing the gospel.

“We just want to reach people, pray with people and love on God’s people,” McCorn said. “That’s my favorite thing to do. [Gonzalez’s] thing is reaching people with cars, but ours is meeting people and asking what they need prayer for.”

She shared a tent with Stephanie Reimer who appreciated the diversity the event welcomed. Although she wasn’t too invested in the cars, she said that there was a reason for her to be at the car show, whether she inspires someone toward faith or leads someone to inspiration.

“We’re really praying for transformation in all of Kansas City,” Reimer said. “To be able to come to different spots in Kansas City to pray, love on people and share the love of Jesus changes things. Those moments that we can share with people, we believe God will do amazing things in Northeast.”

Between the Christian music blaring on the speakers and the reverberating car engines, the crowd’s attention was rarely lost. Children’s laughter could be heard from the Spider-Man themed bounce house as their parents took turns supervising their activity.

The annual car show was a way of bringing people together to create a sense of community and belonging in Northeast Kansas City. Through the collaboration of multiple congregations, the event’s reach was not limited to one specific church, making Gonzalez’s goal slightly easier to attain.