Fog foils helicopter egg drop, but celebration continued in Conway

The Grand Strand area awoke to a blanket of fog Sunday morning – a fog that canceled plans for a Myrtle Beach helicopter to drop 1,600 candy-filled Easter eggs onto a Conway field for kids to find.

With no clear flight path, the helicopter was grounded. But the threat of storms and the looming fog didn’t cancel Ekklesia Christian Church’s Easter celebration at 10 a.m.

“The helicopter is not going to be able to make it today so what we’re going to do is going to be kind of like an Angry Bird-style game,” said the church’s Pastor Matt Wilson, standing outside of a tent where an Easter service would begin at 11 a.m. “We’re going to get the kids over in this open area over here and from the bushes, we’re going to have people launching eggs at them.”

The helicopter drop would have required the kids to wait on the sidelines until all of the eggs had fallen – piñata style onto the open field. But the new game would have everyone out in the action.

Cars rolled onto the road-less soggy field off of U.S. Highway 501 next to Taylor Sign Company on Sunday morning where kids blew bubbles and played in their Easter dresses. Some ditched their soaked shoes to enjoy the morning barefoot on a field where a new house of worship for Ekklesia Christian Church will be erected this year.

Eggs flew from bushes into a sea of nearly 60 children, who laughed and scrambled as they hunted. Some hunters filled their baskets to the brim and for those who didn’t capture any eggs, they would not leave empty-handed.

The church’s youth minister Laura Brown purchased some of the found eggs to make sure every child could carry home the treasures.

Sunday was a day of celebration as the congregation recalled the resurrection of their savior. Christ had risen. Wilson and his pregnant wife, who played the drums as her husband sang in the band, were expecting their first son – any minute now – to join their family of five daughters.

And after many searches, the Ekklesia congregation had found land for its new home.

Dakota Fulp declared his commitment to God and was baptized before the service in a pool outside of the tent. Everyone was welcome to this party and all rejoiced.

The growing congregation originally formed at Myrtle Beach Christian Church and has been meeting at Coastal Carolina University’s Wall building since its launch service on June 1, 2014. The church recently signed a contract to purchase the tract of land on Highway 501, but needs to raise $100,000 in the next two months to build its permanent home. A donor has offered to match contributions up to $50,000. For more information on how to donate, visit the church’s website at www.ekklesiachristianchurch.com.

This story was originally published March 27, 2016 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Fog foils helicopter egg drop, but celebration continued in Conway."