Small Kentucky Church Hands Out 5,600 Bible-Verse Candies at Fall Festival
Annville Baptist Church, which runs about 130 on a good Sunday, put some 60 members to work and drew a crowd more than double its last outreach.
See where this is ›ANNVILLE, Ky. —
Annville Baptist Church in Annville, Ky., turned its second annual fall festival into a gospel outreach over Halloween weekend, handing out about 5,600 pieces of candy, each one carrying a Bible verse, Kentucky Today reported Nov. 2.
The church, led by Pastor David Wilson, averages about 130 people on a good Sunday. About 60 members, ages 13 to 90, helped put on the Saturday event. Homebound members who could not come helped by sticking Scripture labels on popcorn bags.
The crowd was more than double the roughly 350 people who came to the church's trunk-or-treat two years earlier, according to the report. Kevin Toney, an Annville deacon and associational mission strategist for the Irvine Baptist Association, said every piece of candy was donated. “We passed out 5,600 pieces of candy and the church didn't have to purchase even one piece of it,” he said.
Families walked a U-shaped route through game stations in the gymnasium, such as pop-a-shot and cornhole, picking up popcorn and candy along the way. Each stop gave church members a chance to talk with visitors. Near the end, a “Prayer and Praise Pumpkin” station offered prayer, and families could leave notes. Several wrote thanks for the church's cleanliness, safety and friendliness.
The church chose fall decorations and family games over spooky themes. “You've got to put the gospel first,” Toney said. Jason Hay, a mission strategist with the Kentucky Baptist Convention who has written a booklet on organizing fall festivals, advised the church on the event.
Kentucky Today reported no professions of faith from the night, but said some fruit may come later. A Hindu man who came with his family told Toney he might visit the church someday.
“It was like a mission trip here at home. We didn't have to go anywhere,” Wilson said. “God was glorified in a small town,” Toney added.
