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Participation in Halloween is a personal choice, but regardless of your choice, young people love to be scared — and to eat. With those two givens in mind, it's hard to ask them to abstain from Halloween without providing an alternative. (If you want some real alternatives, "click here") To help you in your planning of that alternative, I offer you the October 2005 Edition of the Heavenly Top Ten, which is:
“Top Ten Things To Do With Your Youth Group On Halloween”
- Watch the Hitchcock classic, "The Birds", then do a reenactment of the Lord sending quail.(Num 11:31-33). Use real birds!
- Play the ever popular "bobbing for manna"!
- Rather than showing the cult classic, "Night of the Living Dead", talk about the "Day of the Dead Living"!
- Do a reenactment of the Egyptian plagues using real critters. For more effect, put all the firstborn in one room and tell them to wait for a 'special' visitor! (Exodus 12:29)
- Prepare for an improvised retelling of "Jonah and the Big Fish" by emptying several cans of tuna into a sleeping bag. Add mayonnaise and onions to taste. Choose one unsuspecting volunteer (with clean socks) and have them get into the sleeping bag. Drag and roll them around for several minutes. Afterwards, make sandwiches!
- During snack time explain the difference between noshing and gnashing teeth! (Matt. 13:42)
- Act out the Creation Story with food. Begin when the world was "formless and void" (Gen 1:2) by using Tofu!
- Picture this: Gasoline, sparklers, the Sr. Pastor's desk — all for a rousing retelling of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal! (1 Kings 18:36-39) Have 911 on speed dial and an up-to-date copy of your resume handy!
- Fill the baptistry with raspberry Jello and go bungie-jumping into "the blob"!
- And the number one thing to do
with your youth group on Halloween is: - Pray, pray, pray! (1 Thess 5:5)
Thanks to Geoff Clarke for help on #3.
The Heavenly Top Ten is intended to be a fun look at
issues of faith and fellowship. It should not be considered a serious treatment
of
any of the topics presented.