Halloween is the only day in the year when it is not only accepted but expected that everyone will get out in the streets and greet their neighbors. We pray for opportunities to love our neighbors and bless our communities in ways they understand. Halloween is not a threat. It’s THAT opportunity.

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Yes, Halloween has a dark side - pagan origins, and now costumes can be overly grotesque or overly sexualized. It’s a risk - you may experience the ugly or racy side. You may get some kid in your neighborhood that scares your family. So – at Sandhurst, we respect those who can’t get past the past that. We get it. However, we encourage approaching it with the idea to bring the light to the dark, and redeem the day, the last national holiday designed to bring us into contact with our neighbors. Wisely make the most of this opportunity!

For example, on my first day of missions class at DTS, Prof Mark Young set up the following scenario: a new family moves into a neighborhood just before Halloween. On the night they strike out with their little ones, and the first house is dark… the next house is lit up, party music is playing, people in the yard, giving out candy, ooing and ahhing over the kids. Which family do they perceive loves their neighbor?

Jesus told Simon Peter, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church at the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Gates are for defense. Jesus wasn’t saying the church will withstand hell’s attack. He is saying the gates of hell will not stand against His Kingdom’s attack. We belong to the kingdom of light - and that’s what mission is. NOT going from here to there. But going from the light to the dark. So on Halloween, when everyone is out - let’s consume the darkness with light, and like the resurrection, watch life swallow death again. So if you have to stand down - stand down. BUT - if you can, light it up.