Last week a friend and I were discussing the Trunk-N-Treat event that was taking place the next night. She shared with me that she had driven past the church last year during Trunk-N-Treat and was struck by the picture it painted. She said “It was just like the light in the darkness.” God’s story was being told to the dark world. This reminded me of John 1:4-5 “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
As I sorted all the candy for each trunk last week, I prayed that God would send that lost, dark world to our parking lot so we could shine his light to them. He answered those prayers. At Trunk-N-Treat we have only a few minutes to share each story, but those minutes are spent doing our best to spread God’s love, not just to the kids of this congregation, but also to children and families outside of ARC. When children come to Trunk-N-Treat, their parents register them on a form with their name, address, if and where they go to church, or if they are looking for a church home. According to those registrations, we have some work to do. Out of 175 kids, 5 families (12 children) are looking for a church home,22 families (32 children) either do not attend regularly or don’t have a church home. Read that again. This is from a pool of only 175 children. Does this just break your heart? It does mine.
But I have hope. Each week at Pioneer Clubs, I see a few kids that come who do not have a stable home, a church family or even know what the Bible is. We get 90 minutes to love them, tell them about their Savior and plant seeds in their hearts. You know what? A lot of them return and become members themselves! So, how do they get to Pioneer Clubs in the first place? Our children are working as little missionaries and being a light each week, that’s how!
I had the opportunity to teach one of the clubs a couple weeks ago. One of the girls said she brings her friend each week who does not go to church otherwise. I told her that Jesus was so happy for her being a missionary. She looked at me strange. I explained to her that she was helping her friend learn about Jesus and that makes her a missionary. She just glowed the rest of the night knowing that she was helping make a difference in her friend’s life.
I could give many examples of children that are bringing their friends. Some of those friends have never been in a church building before. What a beautiful picture our children are painting in this dark world. Many of us adults could learn a real lesson from them.
When is the last time you invited a coworker or a friend to church with you? How about simply sharing how God has helped you through a tough time? There are many ways to shine God’s light around this dark world, but you have to be willing to let His light shine through you.
Thank you to all that helped with Trunk-N-Treat. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for being the light in this dark world. Also, thank you parents for sharing your little missionaries with me throughout the week. They are truly blessings….each and every one of them!
Becky