Halloween is right around the corner — will your family be participating? And just for fun, or will you use Halloween as a ministry opportunity?
Whether or not Christians should participate in Halloween and how is a debate that rages every fall, and for very good reason – it’s not a cut and dry issue.
The Bible doesn’t talk about Halloween and Christianity specifically, and there are some really fantastic points on both sides of the debate.
(Curious what they are? Be sure to check out my article Should Christians Celebrate Halloween? for some good food for thought before you make your decision.)
And yet, what if “Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?” isn’t the right question to ask at all?
What if the question we should be asking is “How should we, as Christians, use this day to the glory and honor of God?”
Or better yet, “How can we use Halloween as a ministry opportunity to better reach a world in need?”
Because the truth is, it’s not like we can just pretend the day doesn’t exist. Just stay in bed, hide under the covers and refuse to come out until the calendar reads November 1st.
Every time Halloween rolls around, we as Christians have a choice.
- Do we stay quiet and just go on with our day as though it’s just another day?
- Are we loud and vocal about how evil the day is and how everyone who participates is a horrible sinner?
- Or do we find ways to be the salt and light in the midst of a dark, dark world?
Honestly, whether you choose to participate in Halloween or not (and how) makes absolutely no difference to me. I can completely see both sides of the debate, and whatever you choose is between you and God.
But if you DO plan on participating (our family does), why not do it in a God-honoring way? In a way that takes the spotlight off of satan and puts it right back on God – where it belongs.
After all, who says satan gets his own day? Not me. Nope. October 31st is just as great of a day to glorify God as any. Maybe even more so, since it’s ripe with opportunity.
Ready to use Halloween for good? Here are 5 creative Christian Halloween ideas to help you make the most of this once-a-year ministry opportunity.
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1. Dress Up as a Biblical Figure or Concept
Planning on dressing up? Why not dress up as a Biblical figure or concept? Sure, it may not lead to others’ salvation, but it’s a conversation starter if nothing else. It’s also a great way to steal a little attention back from the dark side and put it right back where it belongs–especially if you and your family study the Bible character ahead of time.
Plus, with TONS of Christian Halloween costume ideas, you can really get creative!
(click any image to find costumes on Amazon)
Here are just a few examples:
- Jesus, Joseph or Mary
- An angel, wise man, or king
- A shepherd or sheep
Or you could get really creative and go with something like:
- The Holy Spirit (ghost costume with extra holes ? )
- Noah’s ark (dress all the kids up as different animals)
- One of the 10 plagues
The possibilities are endless!
2. Invite New Families Trunk or Treating
Is your church hosting a Trunk or Treat this Halloween? Why not invite one of the families in your neighborhood to go with you?
While I am typically not a fan of Christians sticking too closely in their own Christian bubbles, Trunk or Treats do provide the perfect, pressure-free opportunity to invite new families to your church – especially people who typically wouldn’t attend otherwise.
This is an especially great idea if you happen to know of a single, working mother or mother with disabilities who won’t be able to take her children trick or treating. You could offer to bring her kids along too, or all go together and chat on the way!
3. Pass Out Christian Goodies to Trick-or-Treaters
If you’re planning on handing out candy this Halloween, you could hand out a few tasteful tracts as well.
Sure, handing out tracts may not be the most effective evangelism tool (it’s better to take the time and develop a relationship, not just hand people a piece of paper), but apparently, they do sometimes work and it beats not saying anything at all.
One note, though – if you are going to hand out tracts, please get kid-friendly ones.
(These ones are pretty good: You’re One-of-a-Kind)
I’ve been hunting all over looking for some good ones to recommend and most of what’s out there is downright frightening! Yes, that can be effective and there are times for that, I suppose. But let’s remember the occasion. These are for children out having a good time with their families. Keep it light and encouraging!
(If you can’t find any good tracts, you can always go with Christian stickers, pencils, little games or books. That would work too.)
And another thing: Do NOT give out tracts instead of candy but in addition to it. For kids, Halloween is allllll about the candy. Do not be THAT stingy person. Make the tract a bonus — give out candy too. And be generous. We are Christians, after all. Remember, the world is watching.
4. Teach Your Children About the Darkness
Of course, as Christian parents, we DO need to talk to our own children about the less pretty parts of Christianity, such as the devil, demons, spiritual warfare, sin and all that at some point, and Halloween is the perfect time to do it.
You can vary the topics and depth of your conversations based on your children’s ages, but whether your children are young or nearly grown, there are plenty of things you could talk about.
With younger children, you might simply share how the ghosts and goblins they see aren’t real (they’re just costumes), but that there are bad things out there in the world. Superheros might not be real, but witches actually are – and they’re not like what you might think. (They’re not green and they don’t wear black, pointy hats)
If your children are older and you’re feeling brave, however, you can actually take your children to something called a Judgement House. The Christian alternative to haunted houses, Judgment Houses portray gruesome and graphic scenes and situations in an attempt to share the real evils of the world and to bring people to Christ.
(PLEASE do your research before you go though. These can be quite terrifying, and not all of them may share the right message.)
5. Get to Know Your Neighbors
On a friendlier note, Halloween is also a great time to simply get to know your neighbors.
Take your kids trick-or-treating at their houses. Have them trick-or-treat at your house. Host a neighborhood get-together complete with a bonfire and yummy treats – it’s up to you – just do something.
Even if you don’t have a good chance to share the Gospel Halloween night (which is completely fine), it is a good chance to start building real relationships with those all around you – not just to make them your “missions project,” but to get to know them and love them, just like Jesus would.
Is your family planning on celebrating Halloween this year? What do you have planned?
I agree in that there are positives to Halloween – in that it does foster community in our neighborhood, for one. It is one time of year where children of all nationalities break out of their bubbles and truly interact and are joyful together.
And yes, it is historically a pagan holiday, but most of those holidays were adapted by the early Christians with a more positive spin! 🙂
Exactly. So where do you draw the line? It’d be so nice if everything were either plainly good or evil, but the boundary lines just aren’t clear – especially with the murky origins of all the holidays!
Even Christmas used to be a pagan holiday. The Christmas tree was a pagan symbol. The word Easter comes from pagan roots. I think listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit for each of us personally is much more of a individual conviction than a generic eschewing of all things with roots in pagan traditions. Plus your comment of pathetic was not kind or loving. I don’t always agree with Brittany on her theology, but I think we are to restore with gentleness, not legalistic bile. Honestly, researching the origins of Halloween, there are LOTS of differing answers. Grace for those seeking His face would say much more than your response did.
🙂
And honestly, my point really isn’t to get everyone to agree with me. That would be silly. I’m not the Bible. I’m not right about everything. Don’t follow ME – follow Jesus!
My point here is simply to challenge people’s beliefs and get them really thinking – so people really think through the issues and dive into the Scriptures to see what it REALLY says, not just what they’ve been told or assumed all their lives.
Like I said in the post, I really don’t care which people choose. Just something to think about for those who do choose to participate 🙂
Before I knew anything I used to go out and trick or treat. After becoming an adult and coming to grips with sin and salvation I was put off by the idea of demons, goblins etc. But research lead me to all souls eve. Not all saints day (although that’s in the mix too; in fact SO MUCH SO that it is hard to find specifically what you’re looking for)
With hurricane Michael it is easy to put on the pious self-righteous garb and say ‘Well, they were warned’ about the dead. But having lived through 3 hurricanes in 6 weeks in 2004 I can tell you how mistakes in thinking occur regarding storms. So when they show the aftermath my heart goes out. The end times are coming and people have been warned but even God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Does your heart go out for the lost ?
Origins of Halloween (hallowed evening) go back to the flood. That truth is obscured by so many variants (as are most all ancient truths)that it is hard to find.
But here is what I found. A year after the flood Noah and his family took a moment to remember. The flood. The loss of life. God’s judgement. if you were one of only 8 survivors after everyone on the face of the planet drowned you might stop to remember what happened and why (lest you forget). Noah and his family probably lost some friends and possibly family in that flood. To remember it each year isn’t that far fetched. As humans so often do, that commemorative event got twisted in many ways into what we see today in both religious and non-religious events.
We can say we’ll they were warned so they got what they deserved. Or we can remember what the Bible says: ‘and such were some of you’. And realize only God’s grace makes us any different. To be stingy and mock others because we obtained it and they haven’t is really dangerous.
Forgive me if I don’t seem to be driving home the point but we need to love the sinner while hating the sin. Brittany, thank you for confirming what God opened up to my understanding in the middle of the night.
Thanks for the ideas. Our church is visited by over 1000 people on Halloween night. It’s a great opportunity to minister to the unchurched . We sow the seed…God does the rest.
So glad you found it helpful 🙂
She is saying to be the light in the darkness… not pathetic when we uplift the Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone can make something bad out of good and something Good out of bad. Let your light shine. If just one person comes to know the Lord through something that is said or done, isn’t that what it’s all about. If a seed is planted, isn’t that better than just staying shut up in your house… let God be uplifted every single day of our lives, even on October 31… THIS is the Day that the Lord has made!
Great I agree I’m going to do it. Thanks for the idea blessings
I totally get where you’re coming from. My thought process is just really to get people thinking. How could we use this holiday for good?
We host a harvest party in our garage every year on Halloween night. We have three different game stations wear the kids play fast games and go away with a nice treat at each station. The purpose of doing the party here is to bring the harvest party to the neighborhood where we get a good 200 or more kids each year. People at our church help work the party and pitch in for the cost. For the treats I always put scripture talking about the love of Jesus including John 3:16. We have done this for the past ten years now and we have had testimonials from people who were touched and affected by it. That is the whole point. We want to plant seeds and be a light to our community.
When I was a little girl a wonderful older man would give us a tiny bible every year that had John 3:16 in it and it definitely planted seeds in my life.
That’s so fun!
Halloween originated from the Celtic holiday Samhain where they dressed up to scare away the dead that crossed over on that day. They believed it kept them safe. I believe a costume party with wiener roast, s’mores and games and lots of candy at home keeps my kids and grandkids safe.
These are wonderful ideas! We are to be the light! This is an opportunity to reach sinners. After all, that IS the great commission. People get entangled and back into bondage after being saved, sometimes under the heavy yoke of religiosity and forget what us Christians are called to do. We have the dominion and authority over pagan nonsense and spiritual powers in high places, by the blood of the lamb. We don’t fear the devil. Thank God for the Holy Ghost and power that equips us for every good work. Stomping on the devil’s playground and snatching souls up for Jesus. We must be soul winners. No need to be a religious police. People are stepping into eternity every second. Take advantage of every opportunity to share the gospel and lead someone to Salvation in Jesus.
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