At King Solomon Baptist Church, family means everything— biological and biblical.

The sixth annual Family Empowerment Weekend is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 26 through Sunday, Aug. 28 at the church located at 180 Oak Ridge Road.

“It’s just a family affair here all the time, and this Family Empowerment Weekend is just the highlight of it,” deacon Thomas Sandles said.

This year’s theme is “Biblical Marriage, the Godly Standard,” with a focus on the passage Malachi 2:13-16.

The weekend begins at 7 p.m. Friday, with a family encouragement banquet. The Rev. Jim Futral, executive director-treasurer of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, will speak during the banquet.

Festivities continue Saturday with a Bible quiz bowl from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and a 21st Century Pastor’s roundtable at 7 p.m.

“We’re going to have a Pastor’s roundtable where there will be a lot of youthful pastors here and they’ll have a table where they’re asked questions…and they’ll all give their opinion,” Sandles said. “That’s very interesting— all kind of diversity and a whole lot of different points of view. Some you agree with and maybe some you wouldn’t.”

Sunday worship service will be at 11 a.m. and a Gospel concert will be held at 5 p.m. The Jackson Southernaires, a Gospel group that has been together for years, will perform at the concert.

Other church choirs will open up the concert before the Southernaires take the stage.

“We’re looking to fill the house up,” Sandles said.

Outside of the church Sunday evening several booths will be set up selling food and different items. There will also be horseback rides and basketball games.

“It’s going to be a whole weekend full of things to do,” Sandles said. “The church service is the most important part, but then we have a lot of things for kids to do and a lot of things for grown ups to do outside if you’re not apart of the concert on the inside.”

Sandles said the weekend is the church’s largest fundraiser of the year.

“It’s a big thing for our church because it lets folks know in the city who we actually are and it actually helps us to work together,” Sandles said. “We do a lot of things together.”