Halloween Outreach

Different Christians have different opinions about Halloween. When I was growing up near Boston, we always put on costumes and went out and collected candy. It was always a blast.

Here in Lima, Peru, Halloween is celebrated pretty much the same way as we did back in the day in Boston. Kids get dressed up and go out and collect candy. The one big difference is that in Peru the kids don't shout "Trick or treat!" when they ring your door bell. Instead, they just shout out, "Halloween!"

The evangelical church in Peru tends to run pretty conservative, and as such it basically opposes Halloween. Here at Flamingo Road Church in Lima, however, we take a different approach, and we've decided to shine a light into the darkness.

As a result, we are very pro-active and intentional when it comes to Halloween here in Lima, because we see it as a great outreach opportunity. We are hosting a children's costume party on the 2nd floor play area of a local Kentucky Fried Chicken. The KFCs here in Lima are huge, with large children's play areas, and so we're taking over one for Halloween. Our pre-school and children's ministry director, Mariana, and her team of volunteers, are putting together a show for the children featuring song and dance, and of course the kids also will get to chow down on some fried chicken and french fries, and they'll each receive a bag of candy. We've also invited special needs children to be a part of the party. We hope to have around 50 children and their parents at the costume party. Oh, by the way, we also make sure to include a promotional card for Flamingo Road Church in Lima in every bag of candy that we give out.

Don't be afraid of the darkness! Shine a light in it, just as it says in John 1:5. If Halloween is celebrated wherever in the world that you are doing ministry, then take advantage of this opportunity to reach out to families in your community. You may surprise a few people, but you'll bless many more.