The Loop

I love how the whole church comes together for Trunk or Treat!

We had new volunteers parking people, some folks who hosted their own trunk, and Jason Anderson grilling hot dogs, just to name a few. Over 200 volunteers made the event a great one for our 2300 guests. What an outreach! 

As I walked through the trunks, watching interactions and seeing so many smiles, I couldn’t help but smile myself. I saw so many of our Life Groups set up among the 40 trunks. So many group members interacting with our guests and with one another. It made me think, “This is what the church is: Loving our neighbors and doing life together.”  

Here’s what others had to say...  

Eric Hewitt, a group leader, had the chance to participate in that wonderful Saturday night. He commented on how the fellowship and nice weather made it so great, and on how they “got to show the community the love of Christ.”  

Ashley Hendrickson is a part of a Plainfield Life Group. She said, “Our group wanted to be a part of giving back to the community and spend time socializing together outside of our small group time.” 

Kyle Gentzel saw how it all connected. “The thing that impacted me the most was watching the smiles of the kids and their parents. It was amazing to me that people waited in an unbelievably long line for a few pieces of candy but, as I saw the smiles, I was reminded it had much less to do with the candy and much more to do with the experience. I realized then how important it is for members of our church to serve at events like these. We are the hands and feet of Jesus and we can help unchurched people find comfort in the church by welcoming them with a smile in a friendly place.” 

Travis Popp expressed joy at, “seeing the size of the line of people who will come to our church for their kids to be safe/get candy and knowing we are opening the door to them.” 

Not only were adults passing out candy, but their kids were serving as well. 

The Gentzel lifegroup has 3 newborns in their group, and they were all present and in costume. One passerby noticed the babies and thought they were stuffed animals... that is, until one mom exclaimed, “Oh, it’s a real baby!” and everyone laughed.  

Serving alongside their children was an unexpected blessing for many parents. 

“The thing that impacted me the most was getting to serve alongside my kids (including my newborn), my friends, and their kids. This reminded me that we were taking part in a generational impact. My kids were able to love on other kids in the community, which was really special to watch!” Brooke Gentzel commented. 

Hendrickson, a mom of 4, agreed. “It was so much fun being able to see my kids get excited to be there and interact with the little props we had at the trunk.” She also said that “I loved being able to see the creativeness of our group members to make all of the pieces go together for our trunk.” 

Group members were asked if their group would participate next year and the answers were unanimous! 

“Definitely,” said Hewitt. 

“Absolutely!” said Hendrickson. “We will for sure be a part of it again in the future!” 

Maybe next year it will be twice as many trunks and twice as many people on the hunt for some candy, a safe place to take their kids, and something more that they haven’t found yet: the hope that comes only from Jesus. 

Editors Note: We continue to hear praise from our congregation over this year’s Trunk or Treat! Here are a few more heartwarming comments we received after writing the post you just read!  

Stacey Wray - “What was most impactful for me was not only the event but the process. Our group reached out to the community for cardboard boxes and had the opportunity to invite people directly and let them know they had a part in making it happen. It was also impactful to include all of our life group kids in building the trunk as well as serving. It is so wonderful to be able to show the community as well as our children that it is joyous to serve the Lord.” 

Beth Brewer - “I would have to say that it was very encouraging and uplifting to be with other believers in our community. Especially after the last couple of years of being isolated from each other. It is so easy to be self-absorbed in our culture and it is in serving where we get outside of ourselves. This is where God does the most work on my heart! And I love to think about all the ways God uses our service through times just like trunk or treat. It helps build His kingdom in ways we may never know. We need community and our community needs Him!” 

Travis Baugh - “I was impacted by the servant's heart our church showed through trunk or treat. So many people spent a lot of time, energy, and money to decorate their trunk and love our community. Outreach events like this show that Kingsway is a welcoming, loving place for all no matter who you are or what you're going through.” 

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