Gateway Church Hosts Jingle Jog 5K To Aid Family After Loss and Fund Community Programs

Gateway Church will host its second annual Jingle Jog 5K on Saturday, Dec. 6. Money raised goes to the Gateway Community Fund and the McGinnis family, who lost their son Cole to brain cancer in late September. Associate Pastor Sam McDowell thinks around 700 or 800 runners will show up.

The race happens at Gateway Church in Gateway, Florida. Part of what they collect will help the McGinnis family. Their son fought a rare type of brain cancer before he died.

McDowell said the news struck him hard. "I have a 9-year-old son, so when I heard about Cole and what he was going through, it hit really hard for me," said McDowell, according to Fox 4.

The Gateway Community Fund lets the church help businesses, schools, and causes in town. Helping the McGinnis family shows what the church tries to do when neighbors face hard times.

"The biggest thing that we wanted to emphasize as a church staff is how would we want people to walk alongside of us if we were in their shoes," McDowell said.

Runners can sign up on the Gateway Church website. This marks the second year the church has put on the Jingle Jog 5K.