Those looking to show off their skills with a grill will have their chance at a cook-off Sept. 10.

The Church of Cassopolis is hosting an outdoor church service at 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10 in Cassopolis’ Clisbee Park. Following the church service, the church will host a BBQ cook-off. Contestants in the cook-off are welcomed to enter in one or more of three categories: chicken, steak or ribs. The church is offering a $100 grand prize to the winner in each category.

Hotdogs, hamburgers and other items will also be provided by church members to guests free of charge.

“It will be a good, fun time,” said event coordinator with the Church of Cassopolis Sandy Larkin. “As long as we have food, we will feed [guests].”

Members of the Church of Cassopolis got the idea to host an outdoor worship service after partnering with a church in Niles to host a similar event. Due to the success of that event, Church of Cassopolis officials decided to host their own outdoor church service in Cassopolis.

“We wanted to create an environment where people who don’t normally come to church would come and hear the word of God,” Larkin said.

The idea to follow the outdoor church service cook-off came naturally to members of the church as something they wanted to host, particularly because Pastor Christopher Pittman and his wife are avid grillers, said Carmen Peake, who helped organize the event.

“It was something that [Pittman] wanted to do,” Peake said. “They thought that would bring in people who wouldn’t come to church, but would want to show off their cooking skills.”

Pittman is currently working on securing judges for the cook-off, and is hoping to have local restaurateurs and barbecue experts to judge the entries.

There is a $10 fee to register for the cook-off. While the goal of the event is not to raise money, any money raised would be a pleasant surprise and would go back into the church and the community.

“Money wasn’t the goal. The goal was to try to get to a place where people who don’t normally come to church would come,” Larkin said. “But hopefully we will raise some money. That would be good.”

More than just a church service and a cook-off, members of the church hope that the Sept. 10 event will be way to connect with the community and strengthen neighborly bonds.

“We want outreach and we want to be in and part of the community. Sometimes people don’t like to come inside the wall of a church, so we want to bring it outside to them,” Peake said. “We think that this type of service may be the way to do that.”

Those looking to take part in the 11 a.m. church service will need to bring their own chairs to Clisbee Park.

Deadline to register for the cook-off is Sept. 9. To register, contact Sandy Larkin at (574) 339-4868.