Why Do We Have a Fall Festival on Halloween?

I love the New Living Translation of Romans 12:2 which says:

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

As our church prepares for Fall Festival, this verse comes to mind because the question always seems to linger; "If we have a party on Halloween, isn't that still celebrating Halloween?"

My answer is, "No."

If we as a church use the event as it was meant to be, an outreach to the lost, then it's not at all copying the customs of this world but changing the way it thinks. If a small child doesn't come to church, but his parents will bring him to our Fall Festival, then the child is taught that Halloween is a time to go to a safe place to have fun. And he might even pick up some Jesus from you in the process.

Halloween can't be the "the devil's holiday" of we don't let it be. He's already lost and has no authority over our Godly intentions. If Halloween is meant to be scary it's because we are told it's meant to be scary. Sure there will always be those who use it for horrible things, but have you watched the news? Every day could be Halloween.

I look forward to seeing hundreds of princesses, super heroes and who knows what else this weekend. No doubt there will be a few dressed as vampires or monsters of some kind too. But aren't those the ones that need to be here the most? Because by being here they may come to learn God's will, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

As Dependent As A Child

Think about children and how dependent they are. Babies and toddlers are so dependent that they need someone to feed them. Have you ever noticed how anxious they get when they need their hunger satisfied? You can try to distract a hungry toddler with activities or toys but nothing can really satisfy true hunger.

In 1 Peter chapter 2 we read that Peter urges us to have the same single-minded drive in satisfying our spiritual needs. But how often do we allow ourselves to be sidetracked? We can find a wide variety of ways to try and fill our needs or to eliminate problems, but our spiritual hunger continues. This can make us as cranky as a hungry child! Peter tells us that only the pure milk of the word can nourish the deepest needs of the human soul. Take time to be fed. Recognize the symptoms of your need and satisfy that hunger by digging into the Word of God!

As you do this you will notice that you are better able to parent your children, minister to those around you and you may even find a peace deep within your soul that you didn't feel was possible before. Try reading just 1 chapter of the Bible each day. We recommend you start with 1 Peter!

*Some content taken from Gospel Light's Baby Beginnings, 2008