It’s not a season most evangelical churches celebrate, but when Catalyst, a Grace Brethren church in Kent, Ohio, was asked last year to join with Mainstreet Kent to provide a family-friendly event the weekend before Halloween, Pastor Jonathan Herron quickly said yes.
“Catalyst loves the city (of Kent), Catalyst loves serving people, and Catalyst exists to make Jesus famous-so of course we said yes!” wrote Herron on his blog, jonathanherron.typepad.com. “I’m pumped about this opportunity because it enables us to engage the ‘lost, let-down, and looking.’ That’s who we exist to reach.”
Mainstreet Kent is a non-profit agency that focuses on revitalizing the downtown area of the northeastern Ohio city.
At the festival, Catalyst provided several family-oriented activities, including face painting, Dance Dance Revolution (a popular video game) competitions, candy giveaways, instant photo portraits, and an inflatable ocean liner.
The event was a huge success. “People loved it,” says Herron. “Parents especially appreciated the portraits.”
Herron took advantage of a controversial holiday in order to reach out to people. He plans to do it again this year.
“The event was not geared toward Christians,” he said. “We’re interested in establishing relationships with people far from God – we’re in the least churched county of Ohio.”
The effort is just one of many the church sponsors to reach people for Christ. It’s a dedicated endeavor to have multiple contacts over time to build credibility and establish connections with individuals.
Would he recommend others become involved in similar events in their communities?
“Our mandate as Christ-followers living out a first century faith in the 21st Century is two-fold: be committed to strong, solid theology, and to progressively engage culture,” Herron said. “It’s the balance of truth and grace in missionally living out the gospel in our local contexts. At Catalyst, we ‘go until we get a no.’ Jesus is our Master and He’s leading the way; we’re simply trying to stay in lock-step with what He’s already doing in northeast Ohio.” — By Pete Semple
Pete Semple was an editorial intern with the Brethren Missionary Herald Company during the summer 2008. He is a member of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio, and is a student in the professional writing program at Taylor University-Fort Wayne.