The congregation had just endured a 21-day fast to kick off the new year, giving up sweets, caffeine and fried food for the first weeks of 2019. Sunday’s gathering marked the church’s seventh anniversary, and congregants eagerly broke the fast with a soul food feast.

After a two-hour service filled with song, dance and prayer, church members streamed out of the sanctuary and into the dining room, where they piled their plates with chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans and cornbread.

Church members don’t chow down on homemade southern cooking every week, but special occasions at Kingdom Life call for an Agape meal — also known as a love feast — reminiscent of the first communal meal of the early Christians.