“Don’t miss the chance to love somebody.”

That’s the theme of this week’s Love Out Loud, a mission event in Meridian that encourages people to make a difference through small, random acts of kindness.

“Picture it as a week long mission trip inside of the city of Meridian,” Wade Phillips, an associate pastor at Northcrest Baptist Church told a group of volunteers Tuesday morning. “Our church goes on mission trips all over the world, but this is serving the people of our community in particular.”

Participants in Love Out Loud – some young, some old – are busy this week taking on a a variety of community projects, from painting houses and cutting hair to building wheelchair ramps.

While the event is only in its fifth year, it is by no means small. Nearly 500 people, representing more than a dozen congregations, are coming together at more than 20 different sites to help improve the community.

According to Phillips, the idea for Love Out Loud blossomed from the seed of a simple question.

“We asked ourselves about five years ago, ‘we’ve got this big facility and lots of people. But if Northcrest closed tomorrow, would anybody notice? Are we really making an impact on the city?’”

Clients at Caring Cuts, which set up shop at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen Tuesday, certainly thought so. The goal of the mobile salon is to give hope to homeless people through what many people would consider a simple luxury- a haircut.

Connie Watkins, who stopped for a haircut while she was on her way back from the store, said said she was happy to realize she was in the right place at the right time.

“I knew it would be something good if it was going on at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen,” Watkins said as hairstylist Holly Barber trimmed her hair into layers. “I’m so happy to see this, to see y’all doing this.”

In addition to hair styling, the salon also featured shampoo sinks and a manicure booth, where eight-year-old Harlee Reed sat with several friends, ready to put their talents to work.

Barber said the salon expected to see around 50 people on Tuesday, after a similar turnout at a different location on Monday.

“We just want to share the love of Jesus to people, some of who may not know him, and to give them a fresh start. We try to help them with feeling like they have a sense of hope, and that somebody loves them,” Barber said.

Across town, five men from New Hope Baptist Church worked with Habitat for Humanity to restore a house in need of a new coat of paint.

The summer day was hot, and the work was strenuous, but well worth it, according to participant Mike Russell, who said staying inside an air-conditioned church is no way to reach the masses.

“It seems more and more that you have to engage people away from a church setting,” Russell said. “Folks just aren’t as apt to come to church anymore…but sometimes when you engage them like this, they’ll listen more readily to what you have to say. You never know.

Love Out Loud continues through Friday, with worship services at Meridian City Hall planned for Wednesday night and Friday night. Both services will be at 7 p.m.

The Friday night service will be preceded by a block party at 4 p.m. that will include food and games for kids.