Bumblebees, dragons, and pint-sized pumpkins flooded the streets of downtown Mooresville, North Carolina, Friday evening, as business owners welcomed trick-or-treaters to their annual Halloween event 30 miles north of Charlotte.
When the candy fest on Main Street wrapped up, a different kind of event was just getting started one block away.
Four years ago, “Light the Night” at First Baptist Church Mooresville drew 185 people. This year, close to 1,000 kids and parents showed up to enjoy free food, activities and a message of hope playing on a big screen outside.
“The church needs to reclaim its role as the center of the community,” said Pastor Steve Sellers, minister of Christian education and outreach at First Baptist.
“I don’t worry so much about what our society at large thinks about Halloween. I worry about what God thinks about what I’m doing on Halloween.”
Refusing to miss an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with the neighborhood, the congregation decided to present the Gospel by showing some of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s My Hope videos while hungry trick-or-treaters paused for some chips and chili dogs.
In addition to three inflatable bouncy houses and a face-painting station, the church set up a simple wooden cross where visitors could attach prayer requests. Nearby, volunteers were ready to talk or pray with anyone who wanted to chat.
One woman approached the prayer table and met First Baptist volunteer Sarah Allen.
“Once I said, ‘Can I pray for you?’ she started crying,” Allen explained. She learned the mother of two was struggling with a number of family and medical issues.
“So we prayed about her family, about herself,” Allen said. “Anything and everything to give her strength and wisdom. She doesn’t have a church, so now she wants to start coming here and bringing her daughters.”
“She left knowing she is loved by God,” Allen said. “And I love her. And this community—this church—loves her. She said, ‘What kind of a community does this?’”
While Allen spent time with that mother, another mom was watching the 30-minute video Lose to Gain as she had supper with Spiderman and a ninja turtle.
“I think this is awesome,” said Marleah Lindon who brought her two young boys, Malachi and Trevin to “Light the Night.”
“We’re not really going to do the door-to-door thing,” Lindon said. “This just feels very safe. It’s a nice, safe alternative.”
“I think typically with Halloween, there can be darkness associated with it,” said Tess Miller, part of BGEA’s My Hope team and a member of First Baptist Church Mooresville.
“I’m excited about shining the light of Christ, especially on this particular holiday, in our community.”
The church handed out Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to every family that showed up. The boxes were filled with candy, homemade cookies and Gospel pamphlets for the trick-or-treaters to keep. But the boxes also contained instructions on how to refill them with gifts for impoverished children all over the world.
Any family who brings a shoebox back to the church on Nov. 23 will get a free lunch, and a chance to watch the newest evangelistic My Hope video, Heaven.
In other words, one Halloween event could have an eternal impact—in Mooresville and around the globe.
“When people come tonight, one of the things I hope they walk away with is knowing the joy of Jesus Christ from us being His hands and feet,” Pastor Sellers said.
“But when they come back, I want them to know the joy of Jesus Christ by them being the hands and feet.”
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