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After their small-group meeting the week before Halloween, several InterVarsity students at Arizona State University knocked on their fellow students’ dorm room doors. When the door was opened, the I-V students said, “Reverse trick-or-treat!” and gave the residents candy. Then they invited them to dinner and their small group the following week. I had two objectives in mind as I encouraged our small group to do this: We want to be a witnessing community in the dorms, and we want to prepare the dorm for our presence in the future.

We are “re-pioneering” at Arizona State University, working with almost all freshman. These five students got their feet wet in proclaiming their faith to their friends in a fun way. Our time with dorm residents also helped prepare the dorm for the future as we continue to build relationships and share the gospel with students there. One student couldn’t believe our “generosity” in giving candy to her. Later, I thought, Lord, is this a non-Christian’s understanding of generosity—candy? My heart broke for her. My understanding of generosity is that God emptied himself and became flesh, born in a manger, suffered and died on a cross for us, all sinners. My heart is overwhelmed by his generosity in my life.

We are primarily a commuter campus. One day four of us went Reverse Trick-or-Treating on the campus mall. We have an area where as many as eight Christian groups set up information tables. After all the other groups left, we set up a table with an I-V banner. At ASU, students are skeptical of Christians on campus. They’ve trained themselves not to make eye contact with others, and if they do, it’s just brief and fleeting. This was our chance! We purposely made eye contact, and then tossed candy to them, shouting, “Reverse trick-or-treat!” The effect was remarkable: students faces would change from stone cold to pleasant smiles. Sometimes we could see them whisper to each other, “Christian Fellowship?!” almost in disbelief. Students almost always keep their distance, but we threw candy to professors, janitors, students and even a group of visiting high school students! The best was timing throws to people on bicycles.

One of the students at the table said, “Do you notice that every time we say something everyone looks over here?” Students were taking notice of our presence and our unusual activity, and it shocked them. They were unavoidably curious, and one student has joined the fellowship from the experience.