Halloween Outreach
My heart rate was elevated and my stomach was in knots. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that we were heading into hostile territory. As we approached our destination, my resolve to serve the Lord and love the kids and families we were serving was strong, and my confidence was returning in full force.
One of our visions at Urban Bible Outreach is to serve alongside other like-minded ministries towards a common goal–to reach the world with God’s love and give them the most life-changing book ever written, the Bible. When we met Craig Bess with CrossTrainers Ministry, we immediately knew that he was on fire for the Lord, called in the second half of his life to full-time missions, even in his own neighborhood! He began to tell us of a Halloween outreach he started several years ago in which he shares the gospel of Jesus with nearly 1500 kids every October 31st! Almost instantly, we asked to be a part of it.
That is, until the neighbors across the street came to Craig one day and professed their hatred of him and their hatred of his Christian displays in his front yard–namely a 6 foot spotlighted cross and a movie screen showing a cartoon presentation of the gospel. This really shook Craig up and he asked for prayer from his prayer team.
After days of praying about the decision we should make, Mike and I decided that our family would in fact serve with CrossTrainers ministry on Halloween despite the potential for danger; that we would trust the Lord and not cower in fear. The Enemy keeps too many in bondage to fear as it is!
Almost immediately upon arriving, the Lord confirmed that we had made the right decision. In my nearly 40 years, I have never seen such a populated area for Halloween! It took seeing it to believe it! What an amazing opportunity to share God’s love with the children (and adults) that He so desperately wants to come to Him (Matthew 19:14). And the neighbors that we had worried about retaliating against us as Christians–they had rented a U-Haul truck and parked it on the street in front of Craig’s displays so they would not have to look at us. . .or the cross!
Mike, Joshua (I mean, Indiana Jones) and I spent the evening bagging nearly 600 bags of popcorn for the children watching the 5-minute cartoon gospel presentation (replayed for 4 hours) while 1300 DVDs on the life of Jesus were handed out as well as gospel tracts, candy, and carnival game prizes.
We bathed the evening in a lot of prayer as a group, and I know for myself, I prayed continuously for the neighbors across the street to be so overwhelmed by God’s love for them in the middle of their hate. It’s easy to be disheartened or hurt by insults and rejection thrown your way, but when we remember that Jesus was hated first (John 15:18-20), it is easier to enter the spiritual darkness with the light of Christ.
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’.”
To join our volunteer team, serve with us in this event next year or other Urban Bible Outreach events, or to learn more about CrossTrainers Ministry, please contact me at kathryn@urbanbibleoutreach.org.