An Evanston church is honoring local leaders Saturday for their dedication and service in different sectors of community life.

Through a new capital campaign called The Purpose Project, the New Beginnings North Shore Church is celebrating the accomplishments of nine people who have made a difference in their areas of expertise, the church’s pastor Karl Adair said.

“We decided what we wanted to do was take the time to honor individuals that we felt have already made some type of impact on the community at large,” he said. “Those individuals are all coming from different backgrounds. They’re all coming from different forms of outreach, but we thought that they all met the different things that we were looking for.”

Those who will receive the “Ultimate Purpose Award” include a counselor at Evanston Township High School, an anchor from a local news station and the founder of a business network aimed at the career development of women.

A committee, made up of community and church members, was formed during the summer to brainstorm a list of people who were fit to receive the awards, Adair said.

Recipients were drawn from sectors of religion, family, arts and entertainment and youth.

Under the government sector, the church, located at 930 Pitner Ave., is giving an award to Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd) for his work in the community.

“I’m honored to be recognized by Pastor Adair’s ministry,” he said. “It’s very humbling … being able to share a stage with amazing people who have contributed a lot to this town.”

The church aims to take people who made impacts in their individual areas and bring them together to create “one big happy planet,” Adair said.

By officially commending these individuals who have had success in their own sectors of work, Adair said he hopes to honor people who deserve praise and are not recognized by the everyday work they do.

The project is helping people define the meaning of their lives, he said. Adair said he lives by the tenet that there are two exciting days in people’s lives — the day they were born and the day they realize why they were born.

“These are people who maybe are unsung heroes, people that may be not big in name,” he said. “What we’re trying to let people know is that your life has purpose. Your life has meaning.”

The Purpose Project is also a way for the church to increase its community outreach in Evanston, Adair said. The campaign bloomed out of the influx of violence in Evanston over the summer, he said.

Award recipients will be honored at an event in Skokie on Saturday night. The ceremony will assist in the church’s campaign to raise community outreach, as well as raise money to expand the church’s programming, Adair said.

The funding will go toward the church’s move to a larger location. The move will give the church the opportunity to provide the community with academic support, skill training and seminars and programs to fight gang violence, according to a news release from the church.

The event will feature a speech from Corey Brooks, Sr., who serves as the pastor at the New Beginnings Church of Chicago. Brooks is known both locally and nationally for raising $450,000 for gang violence in his community through camping out in a tent on the roof of an abandoned motel in November 2011, according to the news release.

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