The brand new church in town – Cornerstone Church — will host its first community event on Sunday.

Lead pastor Steve Bensema said it will be the first large scale event for the whole family, and it bears the name of Sunday Funday at the YMCA Cultural Center.

“We will be having an outdoor service, weather permitting, starting at our regular time – 10 a.m.,” he said. “After that we will have food trucks, inflatables and yard games. Appleberry Farm will be there with their Apple Wagon and one of my favorite food trucks will be there – Kona Ice. My family used to own this truck when we lived in Ames.”

The food trucks, inflatables and yard games will be available until 1:30 p.m.

“This is an opportunity to celebrate what God is doing in Marshalltown and to bring families together as school is kicking back off,” Bensema said. “The goal is for people to be able to come and hang out with people from the community and have fun doing it.”

The church leaders are also planning a Marriage Night on Sept. 24. Bensema said it will be a simulcast event with speakers.

Since opening doors, he said the community of Marshalltown has provided great reception as church members have been trying to actively engage with residents.

“We feel that ministry doesn’t just happen inside our church walls — which we rent from the Y anyway — but rather that life happens in everyday situations,” Bensema said. “Our big vision is to be a church that welcomes people in the midst of their brokenness. On that front it has been amazing. We have had great people showing up, some of whom haven’t felt comfortable in a church setting before.”

As Cornerstone continues to rent space from the Y, leaders continue to keep an eye out for a location to call their permanent home. Bensema said there was a possibility, but it turned out the timing and the size was wrong.

” We will continue to pray and see what God puts in front of us,” he said.