Halloween Party
This halloween we’ll be sponsoring a party at the home of Michael and Kathy Emahiser on their front lawn! The party will be an outreach project to their friends and neighbors in the area. As people pass by on their way trick-or-treating, they’ll be met by a friendly party with food, games, and candy!
The party will help build up relationships between the people in the neighborhood and our church. Everyone who passes by will receive a friendly “hello,” an invitation for food and fun, and a flyer about our church with a personal invitation from you to attend church together the following Sunday.
Reverse Trick-or-Treating
Is there any other day of the year when strangers invite you to come knock on their door? We must take this opportunity to spread the love of Christ and a personal invitation to church! Make trick-or-treating with your kids fun and purposeful this year by “reverse trick-or-treating”!
What does that mean? It means that instead of going to each house looking for a treat, you knock on a person’s door to give them a gift. Take a church flyer and wrap it around a full sized candy bar as a gift to your neighbor. Reverse trick-or-treat at our party or take the opportunity to do so in your own neighborhood!
Isn’t Halloween Evil?
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
When I was in elementary school, I remember talking with my friends in class about what we would each be doing for halloween. We talked about our costumes, all of the candy we would get trick-or-treating, and the fun decorations we were putting up at our homes. One friend piped up, “I don’t go trick-or-treating, my family turns off all the lights in our house and hides together in a room and prays.”
I was shocked! Never had I heard of someone who wasn’t allowed to go trick-or-treating, much less the idea that a person would be afraid of a little kid in a costume knocking on their door for candy. I went to church, but no one had ever told me that halloween is bad.
Should I stop trick-or-treating and hide in my room, praying for God to protect me from the evil spirits roaming the streets on halloween night?
Some of us might not be so extreme in our rejection of halloween, but not everyone thinks of halloween as an appropriate activity for a Christian. It’s true, there are certainly things that Christians should not participate in and I don’t condone celebrating or partaking in sin. Halloween is not always just innocent children in cute costumes carrying bags overflowing with candy. This holiday really is used to celebrate evil by some people and it’s our job to overcome that evil with good.
We overcome the evil in the world with the good of the Holy Spirit within us and the redemptive message of Jesus Christ and our Father’s love for the world! Prayer is not at all an incorrect response to evil, and you should certainly pray, but not out of fear. We have been given power to wage war against evil and replace it with good.
When we shake a neighbor’s hand a give them a smile, we overcome evil with good. When we create a safe space for children to have fun and dress up, we overcome evil with good. When we knock on a door and invite a friend to church, we overcome evil with good. When we teach our children how to be a godly friend to the people in the world, we overcome evil with good. When, with our generosity, we become the “cool” house in the neighborhood and make ourselves a friend to everyone who stops by, we overcome evil with good. When we pray for the people we interact with and ask God to help us to make an impact on the world for His purposes, we overcome evil with good.
So let’s get out there, taking a strong stand for everything that is right, and good, and holy – throwing the best halloween party in the name of Jesus!
