A leader in the house church movement says Christians should embrace Halloween.
Although many Christians resist Halloween celebrations because of negative connotations associated with it, Ken Eastburn, a leader in a network of home-based churches known as The Well, says believers should take part in a holiday that brings communities together. "I've been just a little reluctant to celebrate anything that might be celebrating evil or [have] satanic roots or any of that type of thing -- but most Americans, I think, see it as a day to dress up and have fun," Eastburn decides. "So we're trying to embrace what we could do to show the love of Christ to our community." Eastburn says in light of this, he and other house church members plan to "go out to our neighbors, hand out treats to them, and then invite them over to our driveway [to] have hot drinks, coffee, hot chocolate and [where we] have a firepit going." He says they want to "hopefully invite people to stay a little bit and talk, and get to know them." The Well hosts 10 to 15 members weekly at each of its five locations throughout Southern California.
