North Tenneha Church of Christ’s back-to-school bash supports Tyler families

Published 5:40 am Sunday, August 3, 2025

With the new school year fast approaching, families gathered Saturday at North Tenneha Church of Christ to get the necessary supplies for returning to class.

“We’re nestled right in the heart of North Tyler here in the community, and we recognize that we’re a community church, and so it’s important for us to be able to give back to the community that feeds into us,” said organizer Christopher Morgan. “(Back to school) can be an expensive and challenging time.”

The church partnered with NET Health for immunizations, and the congregation contributed to the donations of school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, folders, composition notebooks and more.

“Everyone’s been so thankful and grateful for us hosting this, you know, again, it’s so expensive,” Morgan said. “If you have multiple children, it just adds up and compounds.”

The church also gave away 300 bookbags.

“I love it because we have a lot of children in the community who are not able to get these supplies,” said Cassandra Johnson, who brought her grandson. “Plus, the kids get to come out, have fun and enjoy themselves.”

In addition to providing school supplies, the event also offered free snow cones and popcorn.

“I think they’re a blessing for low-income families who are struggling for school supplies,” said Shomonik Dews, who has children in Tyler ISD. “So, for the community to come out and do this is very helpful to us.”

This marks the second year the church has hosted its own back to school event.

“Last year was our first time and it was outstanding,” Morgan said. “So, we wanted to do it again and make it an annual event.”

Located at 1701 N. Tenneha Ave. in Tyler,

North Tenneha Church of Christ is at 1701 N. Tenneha Ave.

“We’re celebrating 90 years here,” Morgan said. “We have a few hundred members here, so quite a large congregation. We’ve just been blessed enough to be able to give back to the community.