7 Reason Why Your Church Should Host an Evangelistic Fall Festival

by Dr. Marcus Merritt

The end of another Georgia summer is sure to be accompanied by several things: 1) kids are headed back to school, 2) college football mania is about to begin, and, 3) churches are planning their fall festivals. However, if you want to maximize the effectiveness of your fall festival I urge you to get a copy of the North American Mission Board’s (NAMB), Block Party Manual, and follow it closely. Regardless of what you call it, throwing a party and inviting the neighborhood is a distinctly New Testament idea. In Luke 5:27-32, Levi (a.k.a. Matthew) did exactly that. Levi threw a party, invited his friends, and introduced them to Jesus.

In NAMB’s Block Party Manual you will find step-by-step instructions on how to put the event together, equip the workers, and follow-up after it is over. Everything you need is in the manual! NAMB lists many reasons to host such an event, among them:

1. It puts the church where the lost are. A fall festival gets the church outside the four walls and into the community.
2. It provides a setting where you can share the gospel in a less threatening environment. At a fall festival you will encounter people who have never stepped foot inside your church. However, they will not hesitate to come see what your party is all about.
3. At a fall festival, the community is sown with the gospel. New seeds are planted. The gospel is shared and people are given the opportunity to respond.
4. People experience the love of Christ in a practical way. For those in your community who do not have any Christian friends, it will be a unique and tangible opportunity for them to experience the love of Christ.
5. People are given the opportunity to invite the lost to hear the gospel. Church members can invite their lost neighbors. Ironically, often it is the lost themselves that bring and invite other lost friends to a fall festival.
6. Church members are given the opportunity to use their spiritual gifts for the kingdom. You may be pleasantly surprised at the amount of involvement from your church membership once they have caught your vision for this event.
7. A fall festival provides a great opportunity to train members how to share the gospel. Church members can be trained on the various ways of sharing the gospel. If the training is done well, not only will the church members be prepared to share the gospel at the fall festival, but they will also be equipped and ready to share in their work places and communities in the days to come.

For more information on conducting fall festivals, contact the Evangelism Ministries team at the Georgia Baptist Convention. It is our desire to see every Georgia Baptist church intentionally evangelistic.