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On Oct. 24, Faith Community Church, a Christian Reformed congregation in Milford, N.S., hosted its seventh annual trunk-or-treat event, a church parking lot alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating. Almost 280 children and their parents visited Faith Community this year for hot chocolate, candy, and community connection.
Sixteen trunks featured family-friendly, non-spooky themes. Some included interactive activities, others showcased creative displays, and several incorporated biblical texts.
In a display featuring the World Renew Gift Catalogue, event organizer Amy Bokema offered treats and a way to give back. Each Christmas, the church supports World Renew's global development by selecting gifts such as livestock, hygiene kits, and school supplies. Thanks to the contributions from visiting guests, Bokema raised $175 toward purchasing items from the catalog. She expects to offer two other ways for the church to collect donations before Christmas.
One Faith Community Church trunk display collected donations for the World Renew Gift Catalogue.
Bokema sees trunk-or-treat as an opportunity to build relationships and serve the community. The event provides “a safe space for families where we can just give to our community and expect nothing in return.”
Faith Community Church is among several CRCNA churches that use trunk-or-treat events to connect with their neighbors.
Orland Park (Ill.) CRC took a different approach to its trunk-or-treat event this year. The church's education coordinator Judy Kamp explained that, wanting to embrace the church's kingdom mission of being “a community of believers commissioned to tell the world about Jesus,” organizers pivoted to a Walk Through the Bible theme.
Inspired by The Gospel Story booklet, 60 volunteers decorated 20 trunks to depict the arc of the Bible from creation to the return of Christ. In one family's display, their 5-year-old son wrote out all the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Communications coordinator Denise Vander Plaats designed keepsake bookmarks with Scripture references for each of the trunk displays. Visiting families received the bookmark and booklet with the hope of encouraging them to explore God's Word together.
Attendance was lower than expected at the Oct. 10, 2026, event, with about 200 people compared to more than 500 in past years. If the lower turnout was connected to this year’s more explicitly biblical approach, Kamp said organizers nonetheless trusted that God had brought the people who needed to be there.
And preparing the biblical walk-through encouraged the congregation. “It gave them a different platform for sharing the truths of the Bible with the community, and their excitement was contagious,” said Kamp.