SAVE THE DATES: Fort Worth’s MLK Bowl Builds a Safer Future for Young People on January 15-18, 2027.

Fort Worth’s MLK Bowl Builds a Safer Future for Young People on January 15-18, 2027.

New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church is bringing gun safety, specialty coffee, spiritual renewal, Black history, and winter relief together for one ambitious four-day weekend.

On a January weekend in Fort Worth, a church on Mississippi Avenue will transform Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a shared destiny into a working community agenda.

From January 15 through 18, 2027, New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church and the Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas will host the 2027 MLK Bowl Weekend, a four-day gathering centered on youth health, safety, education, faith, and economic opportunity.

The theme is direct: “Our Common Destiny Is Health and Safety.”

It draws from Dr. King’s warning in his Letter from Birmingham Jail:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

At New Mount Rose, those words will be translated into action. Young people will learn about secure firearm storage, explore careers in specialty coffee, connect with the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers, gather for worship, and receive warm winter coats.

“We have an amazing weekend planned for our youth,” said Pastor Kyev Tatum, Sr., founder of the MLK Bowl and host pastor of New Mount Rose. “We hope to bring greater attention to health and safety preparedness while creating opportunities that can help change the trajectory of our young people and our communities.”

Heal From the Steel

The weekend begins Friday with a message that carries the urgency of a community determined to protect its children:

Heal From the Steel. Save the Block. Lock Your Glock.

The summit will address the pain caused by gun violence while promoting responsible firearm ownership and secure gun storage. Be SMART, Moms Demand Action, and Everytown for Gun Safety are scheduled to participate.

The language is memorable because the stakes are high. Safe storage can prevent accidental shootings, youth suicides, and stolen firearms from reaching the streets. The summit will give families practical information they can use inside their own homes.

For New Mount Rose, healing and prevention belong in the same conversation. Communities affected by gun violence need support for their trauma, along with the knowledge and resources necessary to prevent the next tragedy.

Brewing Economic Opportunity

Saturday’s Youth Coffee Expo Summit will introduce young people to an industry many encounter every day but may rarely consider as a career.

The specialty coffee economy stretches from farming and importing to roasting, brewing, marketing, equipment repair, hospitality, and business ownership. For young participants, including African refugee students interested in earning income, the expo will offer an early look at how a cup of coffee can become a pathway to entrepreneurship.

The summit will feature the Texas A&M University Center for Coffee Research and Education and What’s the Buzz Specialty Coffee.

The program reflects a larger vision at New Mount Rose: helping young people move from consumers to creators, skilled workers, and business owners.

Justice, Faith, and the Buffalo Soldiers

On Sunday morning, the weekend will turn toward worship and history during MLK Justice Sunday.

The service will feature the Texas Buffalo Soldiers Association, Commander RosieLeetta Reed, Coy Poitier, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Buffalo Soldiers Heritage & Outreach Program.

The Buffalo Soldiers represent a complicated and essential chapter of American history. Their story gives young people an opportunity to learn about courage, service, discipline, and the contributions of Black soldiers whose achievements were too often left outside traditional history books.

Justice Sunday will connect that history with faith and Dr. King’s unfinished call for dignity, equality, and community responsibility.

More Than a Coat

The weekend concludes Monday afternoon with Operation Warm, a winter outreach effort providing coats to children.

Volunteers of America Texas, Operation Warm, and Subaru Loves to Help will join New Mount Rose for the distribution.

A warm coat is a practical gift, but it can also protect a child’s confidence, health, school attendance, and ability to participate in daily life. The event captures the guiding spirit behind the MLK Bowl: meet immediate needs while building toward a stronger future.

2027 MLK Bowl Weekend Schedule

Friday, January 15, at 11:00 a.m.
Heal From the Steel. Save the Block. Lock Your Glock Summit
Featuring Be SMART, Moms Demand Action, and Everytown for Gun Safety

Saturday, January 16, at 11:00 a.m.
Youth Coffee Expo Summit
Featuring the Texas A&M University Center for Coffee Research and Education and What’s the Buzz Specialty Coffee

Sunday, January 17, at 11:00 a.m.
MLK Justice Sunday
Featuring the Texas Buffalo Soldiers Association, Commander RosieLeetta Reed, Coy Poitier, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Buffalo Soldiers Heritage & Outreach Program

Monday, January 18, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Operation Warm
Featuring Volunteers of America Texas, Operation Warm, and Subaru Loves to Help

All events will be held at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, 2864 Mississippi Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas.

Businesses, churches, community organizations, and individual supporters are invited to help sponsor the weekend. For sponsorship or collaboration information, contact Pastor Kyev Tatum, Sr. at 817-966-7625 or kptatum1@gmail.com.

Contributions may be made through Zelle at newmtrosembc@gmail.com, Cash App at $Newmtrosembcfw, or PayPal at New Mount Rose MBC Fort Worth.