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Monday
March 15, 2010 Since 1922 |
Two churches use Halloween alternatives
By Cierra Putman
The Baytown Sun Published October 24, 2009 Jason, Freddie Krueger, vampires, zombies and other big bad villains of the silver screen may be your worst nightmare, but a couple of local churches say there is something scarier in real life and they are using Halloween to prove it. This Halloween, two churches in Baytown will use dramas filled with the horrors of the earthly world to scare people away from facing eternal damnation and instead, try to lead them to salvation.
“The reason why we do it because it leads people to Christ,” Donna Hammel of Memorial Baptist Church said about her church’s Judgment House productions. “It’s so impactful that they come to the end of it and dedicate their life to Christ.”
This year’s Judgment House theme is “Behind the Family Portrait” and will take visitors on a sometimes-scary journey into a broken present day family. The church hopes the drama will show visitors why Christ is needed in every home and person’s life.
The hour-long production will run multiple times a night from Oct. 28 to Halloween from 6:30 to 10 p.m.
Hammel says Memorial Baptist has opened its Judgment House to the community for nine years and just recently started putting it on every other year. She said hundreds of people participate in the fall event.
The congregation at Fields of Harvest Church in Baytown is also putting on a salvation-centered drama during its yearly Night of Refreshing. As well as having a drama, the church will also provide free hot dogs and other snacks and goodies.
“We just want to refresh the neighborhood,” Valerie Pedroza, Fields of Harvest Church office manager, said. “We know all the kids are out, the parents are out and we just want to refresh them and at the same time minister to them.”
Last year, the Fields of Harvest Night of Refreshing was put on hold because of a death in the congregation. This year, the entire congregation is working to restore the Baytown tradition and hopes to see 1,000 people participate in the one night Halloween event.
In the past, the church has used puppets and boogieman inspired themes, but this year it’s taking on music icons like Elvis, Michael Jackson and The Beatles with the production of “The Real King of Kings.”
This year’s drama will follow a little girl, who after hearing her parents argue about finances and other worldly problems, goes searching for a king to help solve her problems.
“She goes to these different, what the world considers as, kings,” Pedroza said, “and she goes to them and she wants to know from them ‘Why are you a king? Are you the real King? Can you give me healing? Can you give me salvation?’
“What she realizes at the end is that the icons of the world can’t give her that salvation,” she said, “and that’s when Jesus comes in, and that’s the salvation in the end.”
The church tries to aim the dramas toward children, but Pedroza and Co-Pastor Martha Cochran say both adults and kids will have an opportunity to enjoy the 10-15 minute drama from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Halloween night.
Cochran says families of all creeds and denominations are welcome to participate in the Night of Refreshing.
“We don’t really press our way of worship in as much as we try to encourage people just to receive Jesus Christ and get involved in a local church,” Cochran said. “We welcome them here, however if they have a background of Baptist, Methodist or whatever we encourage them to go to those churches, where they will feel comfortable and be able to grow in the Lord … we’re not trying to fill our church, we’re trying to fill the Kingdom of God.”
Both churches say the most moving part of their Halloween time dramas is watching new people accept Jesus Christ into their lives.
Two years ago at Fields of Harvest the experience was extremely moving for Pedroza.
“For me personally, I think it was the salvation of my son,” Pedroza said. “He was 4-years-old and he watched ‘God is Bigger than the Boogie Man.’
“He’d sat and watched us practice the play over and over again,” she said, “but watching it that night and hearing the salvation message at the end you know (touched him.) He went by himself and he received the Lord. That for me was the most inspiring moment.”
Both churches will have literature about Christianity and Jesus Christ at their events, as well as, people on hand to discuss joining a church and beginning a relationship with God.
The Baytown Sun Published October 24, 2009 Jason, Freddie Krueger, vampires, zombies and other big bad villains of the silver screen may be your worst nightmare, but a couple of local churches say there is something scarier in real life and they are using Halloween to prove it. This Halloween, two churches in Baytown will use dramas filled with the horrors of the earthly world to scare people away from facing eternal damnation and instead, try to lead them to salvation.
“The reason why we do it because it leads people to Christ,” Donna Hammel of Memorial Baptist Church said about her church’s Judgment House productions. “It’s so impactful that they come to the end of it and dedicate their life to Christ.”
This year’s Judgment House theme is “Behind the Family Portrait” and will take visitors on a sometimes-scary journey into a broken present day family. The church hopes the drama will show visitors why Christ is needed in every home and person’s life.
The hour-long production will run multiple times a night from Oct. 28 to Halloween from 6:30 to 10 p.m.
Hammel says Memorial Baptist has opened its Judgment House to the community for nine years and just recently started putting it on every other year. She said hundreds of people participate in the fall event.
The congregation at Fields of Harvest Church in Baytown is also putting on a salvation-centered drama during its yearly Night of Refreshing. As well as having a drama, the church will also provide free hot dogs and other snacks and goodies.
“We just want to refresh the neighborhood,” Valerie Pedroza, Fields of Harvest Church office manager, said. “We know all the kids are out, the parents are out and we just want to refresh them and at the same time minister to them.”
Last year, the Fields of Harvest Night of Refreshing was put on hold because of a death in the congregation. This year, the entire congregation is working to restore the Baytown tradition and hopes to see 1,000 people participate in the one night Halloween event.
In the past, the church has used puppets and boogieman inspired themes, but this year it’s taking on music icons like Elvis, Michael Jackson and The Beatles with the production of “The Real King of Kings.”
This year’s drama will follow a little girl, who after hearing her parents argue about finances and other worldly problems, goes searching for a king to help solve her problems.
“She goes to these different, what the world considers as, kings,” Pedroza said, “and she goes to them and she wants to know from them ‘Why are you a king? Are you the real King? Can you give me healing? Can you give me salvation?’
“What she realizes at the end is that the icons of the world can’t give her that salvation,” she said, “and that’s when Jesus comes in, and that’s the salvation in the end.”
The church tries to aim the dramas toward children, but Pedroza and Co-Pastor Martha Cochran say both adults and kids will have an opportunity to enjoy the 10-15 minute drama from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Halloween night.
Cochran says families of all creeds and denominations are welcome to participate in the Night of Refreshing.
“We don’t really press our way of worship in as much as we try to encourage people just to receive Jesus Christ and get involved in a local church,” Cochran said. “We welcome them here, however if they have a background of Baptist, Methodist or whatever we encourage them to go to those churches, where they will feel comfortable and be able to grow in the Lord … we’re not trying to fill our church, we’re trying to fill the Kingdom of God.”
Both churches say the most moving part of their Halloween time dramas is watching new people accept Jesus Christ into their lives.
Two years ago at Fields of Harvest the experience was extremely moving for Pedroza.
“For me personally, I think it was the salvation of my son,” Pedroza said. “He was 4-years-old and he watched ‘God is Bigger than the Boogie Man.’
“He’d sat and watched us practice the play over and over again,” she said, “but watching it that night and hearing the salvation message at the end you know (touched him.) He went by himself and he received the Lord. That for me was the most inspiring moment.”
Both churches will have literature about Christianity and Jesus Christ at their events, as well as, people on hand to discuss joining a church and beginning a relationship with God.