IDEAS THAT WORK
October 1, 1991
The Halloween Alternative
Ovilla Road Church of the Nazarene in Glen Heights, Texas, is busy planning its second annual Pumpkin Patch Carnival. A year ago a young mother suggested she'd like an alternative to the usual Halloween trick-or-treat activities, so Pastor John Whitsett came up with the idea of the carnival. The community will read about this year's carnival in the local newspaper. A portable marquee will sit at the church parking lot entrance, and flyers will be distributed through community day-care centers and after-school activity centers during the week before Halloween. On Halloween night, carnival time is 6:30 to 8:30 in the yard adjacent to the church. Bales of hay topped with pumpkins mark the perimeter of the carnival area, and a church member costumed as a big dog greets children as they arrive. Other church members supervise a variety of children's games: bowling (with two-liter soda containers as pins), tic-tac-toe (children toss bean bags onto a grid trying to get three in a row), apple-on-a-string, basketball shoot (using a child's goal), pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin, fishing (the younger children loved this one because with a little help they always caught something), and a cake walk. Children may compete at each game as often as they like, but each child can win a major prize only once. Successive wins earn small sacks of candy and a vinyl refrigerator magnet displaying the church name, logo, and telephone number. Since darkness falls by 6:30, the carnival area is lit with a halogen lamp and several homemade light poles. Lighting splashes out through church windows and welcomes those outside to look in. A refreshment table strategically located just inside the chapel holds homemade goodies, coffee, and ...
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 18,013 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
