A young boy fills his Easter basket while attending a Community Easter event at Peoples Church in Jacksonville on Saturday.

JACKSONVILLE – A helicopter carrying 12,000 Easter eggs filled with candy flew over Peoples Church in Jacksonville on Saturday to surprise children by dropping them at the church’s community Easter event.

The free event began in 2019 with more than 500 children in attendance. However, due to COVID-19 the event had to be modified in 2020 and 2021. Now, the event is back in full swing.

Peoples Church Pastor John Atkinson said the event, which is open to anyone, was a good way to bring people together that might not have a home church.

“Every community needs ‘community’. We need opportunities to come together in safe environments and be around others. That’s how God designed us. We feel that events like this provide a safe place to do that, while also allowing the church to continue their mission of sharing the message and love of Christ,” Atkinson said.

“Not everyone feels welcome or safe in a church, for various reasons, but if we can break down some of those walls by providing no strings attached opportunities for people to feel welcomed at our church, what we have found is that many times they will give the church another chance,” Atkinson continued. “It really isn’t about just Peoples Church, but more about the larger ‘Church’ and the message of salvation and peace that God offers to everyone.”

Atkinson said the main attraction to the event was the helicopter drop.

“Likely, the most attractive draw of this event is the helicopter drop. The helicopter flies in and the children and families are directed to watch as thousands of candy-filled eggs are dropped from the helicopter onto the hunting field, divided into three sections for three different age groups to hunt,” he said.

“It’s pretty interesting to watch. We have a video from the 2019 event where we had more than 500 children present, and it looks like a swarm of ants being released onto the hunting field,” Atkinson continued.

Along with the helicopter drop the event also included activities such as music, games, balls, and hoola hoops as well a bike giveaway.

“We are doing a drawing from the names of those registered for the bikes. The names will be divided by boys and girls at registration, and two brand new bicycles, one for a boy and one for a girl, will be given away for each age group which are 0-3, 4-7, and 8-12 years of age,” Atkinson said.

“The bikes are donated by families in our church. Generally, they will give the money needed to purchase them, and our staff will go purchase them so that we ensure that each boy and girl from each age group has an age appropriate bike,” he said.

Chick-fil-A was also on hand at the holiday event.

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