Members of Northcrest Baptist Church look to complete their mission of spreading the Gospel to the Dominican Republic with a glow run fundraiser this weekend. 

The third “Glow So We Can Go” will consist of a 5k run and 2 mile walk Saturday, Aug. 27, at 8 p.m. at Bonita Lakes Park in Meridian. All the money raised will be used to build a permanent church building for the first Baptist church in the city of Sabaneta, Dominican Republic.

“It’s a unique way to do a 5K, and it’s been really popular for us in the past,” said Wade Phillips, the executive pastor of Northcrest Baptist Church. “It’s just been a fun event for many people, and we believe it’s the best cause in the world by spreading the Gospel of Jesus to other places.”

First Baptist Church of Sabaneta was planted by missionaries Jay and Courtney Nelson of Meridian six years ago. The Nelsons recently turned the church over to local leadership in Sabaneta.

Jay Nelson has returned home and now serves as the Director of Missions and Outreach at Northcrest Baptist Church, where he continues to work closely with the church, helping them raise funds for a permanent church building.

“It’s been a continuing mission for us even though the missionaries are here,” Phillips said. “We’re just trying to do the work of getting the gospel to the people in their city and we thought this glow run would be a great way of getting the community involved.”

Nearly 200 runners and walkers have already signed up for the event, said Phillips.

“This is a great opportunity for people to have a good time and also help those people in the Dominican Republic,” he added.

Participants will take off at 8 p.m. from the boat landing at Bonita wearing glow bracelets and necklaces. They’ll go through a course that will include several stations, where they will be sprayed with glow-in-the-dark water and black lights will be placed along the race route for extra fun.

Medals will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in several age divisions.

Runners and walkers can sign up at www.northcrestbaptist.com/glow or beginning at 6:00 p.m. on the evening of the race. The cost is $30.