Love Thy City, a collaborative Christian nonprofit organization and community movement in Tyler, provided over 100 AC units to families suffering from record temperatures during its annual Love Thy City Day 2026 event. The event was hosted at the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center in Tyler on August 22 and culminated with over 7,000 attendees.
Founded in 2024 by Demarcus Pierson, lead pastor of Reveal Church in Tyler, Love Thy City has brought together churches from multiple denominations, civic organizations, and hundreds of volunteers around a common goal: serving the East Texas community.
The organization seeks to bridge gaps within the community and promote greater unity through collaborative service projects and community outreach.
The premise of the movement is the Great Commandment, said David Doyle, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Tyler, one of Love Thy City’s partner churches.
“Love Thy City is a nonprofit organization that comes alongside churches and businesses in the East Texas area and mainly focuses on three areas [of need]: mental, physical, and spiritual. And, basically, the premise is obviously the Great Commandment: love God, love people,” Doyle said.
During the Love Thy City event, volunteers distributed thousands of free goods and services to attendees, including hundreds of bags of groceries, pairs of shoes, electricity and tutoring vouchers, and window air-conditioning units. Participants also received mental health counseling vouchers and other forms of community care, including free mobile mammogram screenings.
Dozens of local churches, nonprofits, and businesses hosted resource booths and vendor tables throughout the event. The day also featured live music, choir performances, children’s activities, and giveaways, as well as dedicated prayer rooms and worship sessions led by local pastors and bands. Outdoor baptisms were also held throughout the day using inflatable pools.
Over 50 church partners
The event was made possible through a network of churches, businesses, and nonprofit organizations across East Texas. This year, Love Thy City partnered with 56 churches and more than 100 businesses and nonprofit organizations, which provided volunteers, resources, financial support, and services to help meet the needs of attendees.
“We fed over a thousand people, and one [care item] was AC units,” Doyle said.
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Registration for the event is online and completely free. During the registration process, participants can identify their most pressing needs, and Love Thy City works with its network of partners to help meet them.
“[It was] about a $400,000 event where everything was free, and we saw many people give their lives to Jesus, and we had over 30 people baptized at the event,” Doyle said.
For Doyle, the event was ultimately an opportunity for the Love Thy City movement to put its mission of serving and loving others into action.
“It was a really cool event just to love on the city and meet people exactly where they’re at,” he said.
Those interested in supporting Love Thy City can contribute through the organization’s donation page.
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