On Mission Event

What makes Harvest Festival an "On Mission" event?

The Harvest Festival is one of only two events that our church calls “All-Church” events. (The other is the Easter picnic) Because it is an all-church event, we try to create an outreach/inviting component that encourages others in our community to attend. One thing that is different about this year’s Harvest Festival is the intentional nature of this outreach.

Here’s what’s different:

• Intentional Gospel Presentation

This year we have a station where children can come and enjoy a story about a pumpkin! The pumpkin is used as an object lesson to describe how Jesus can come into our “heart”, clean out the slimy gunk and make us clean. The candle in the pumpkin illustrates how His light shines through us.

• Bible Tracts

In addition to candy and small toy prizes at the game stations, we will also be handing out Gospel tracts. These small pamphlets are short, easy to understand, and encourage parents and children to talk about what it says.

• Bible Buddies

This year some of the prizes will consist of trading cards that have Bible buddies from the current Avalanche Ranch Sunday morning KidzLife curriculum. These cards have a picture of the Bible buddy on the card with a Bible verse on the back.

• Information Gathering

This year, when people get photos taken we will be asking them to fill out a form with their address on it so that we can send the photo to them. This will allow us to include an invitation to our church and thank them for coming to the Harvest Festival.

• Gift Basket Raffle

This year we will be raffling gift baskets. In addition to including coffee, gift cards, and other trinkets, we will also be placing Bibles, Purpose Driven Life books and invitations to and information about our church.

• Over 20 people have already signed up to help with some part of this event. However, that’s less than half of what it will take to make this event great. Please pray for the Harvest Festival, the people that have volunteered, and the invitations and flyers that have gone out to the community and consider how you can play a role in making the Harvest a blessing to our members, our kidz, and to those who may hear about Jesus for the first time.

Here are two questions for you as leaders:

• What might make this event even more On Mission?

• What part will you have in making this event more On Mission?

Click "comments" on this blog post and share your ideas with the rest of us!