Redeeming Halloween: Simple Ways to Point Your Family and Neighbors to Jesus
Free Printable Below!
Halloween is a hot topic in Christian circles, and understandably so. While I am certainly not an expert on all of the nuances of the origins of the holiday, I have spent time listening, learning, and considering the different perspectives Christians have on it. I understand why some families are hesitant to participate, and I respect those who have decided not to participate at all. I don't intend to argue against anyone's convictions on this.
However, there is one idea I do want to push back on: the idea that October 31 somehow belongs to Satan.
That simply isn't true: Every day belongs to the Lord. He is sovereign over every hour, minute, and second, and nothing falls outside His authority.
That doesn't mean we should ignore the things associated with Halloween. Every October, we see an increase in the celebration of death, evil, and even Satan. These things are real, and Christians should take them seriously. But evil isn't confined to one day on the calendar, and October 31 doesn't somehow place the day outside the Lord's sovereignty.
I think it is wise for Christians to be discerning about what we participate in, what we expose our children to, and how we approach the holiday as a family.
But I also think there is another question worth asking: What if we viewed Halloween as an opportunity to point people to Jesus? Shouldn’t that be the question we are asking every day of our lives including October 31st?
After all, how often do we have an evening when the whole neighborhood is walking around, coming right up to our front door, and interacting with us? We can turn off the lights and choose not to participate, and I understand that instinct. But for our family, it has felt right to consider how we might use this opportunity to love our neighbors and share the hope we have in Christ.
Here are three ways our family has found to be intentional about pointing our children to Jesus during the Halloween season:
Choosing Halloween costumes thoughtfully
Reading The Pumpkin Gospel while carving pumpkins
Setting up a prayer table on October 31
Just here for the Halloween Printable? Grab it below!
Dressing Up For Halloween
For our family, we have allowed our kids to dress up and attend Halloween parties hosted by friends, while also being intentional about the kinds of things we participate in. We don't allow our kids to dress up as characters or in costumes that celebrate evil, death, witchcraft, or similar themes. These are boundaries we've chosen for our family, and I think it's important for each of us to prayerfully consider what those boundaries should look like in our own homes.
One thing I actually love about choosing costumes is the opportunity it creates to talk with our kids about the characters they admire. What is it about that character that they love? Are they brave, kind, courageous, selfless, or willing to stand up for what's right? How can we grow in those qualities ourselves?
Rather than focusing only on what we want to avoid, we can also be intentional about what we want to cultivate in our children.
I share this not because I think every family needs to approach Halloween exactly as we do, but because I believe we can be thoughtful about our participation while still looking for opportunities to teach our children, love our neighbors, and point to Jesus.
The Book We Read Every October
Though we don’t decorate our house for Halloween, I do like to decorate with pumpkins, leaves and general fall decor. This includes getting real pumpkins each year and my kids love the tradition of carving pumpkins a few days before Halloween. And the one book that we read every year while we start carving is…
The Pumpkin Gospel
This glow-in-the-dark board book is a favorite with my kids (I mean, it glows in the dark!), but what I love most is how it uses the process of carving a pumpkin to illustrate the gospel.
As we scoop out the messy insides of a pumpkin, the book gives us a tangible way to talk about sin, God's work in transforming our hearts, and how His light can shine through us.
I love that this simple fall tradition creates a natural opportunity to talk about the gospel with my kids. It's one small way we can enjoy something fun together while keeping our focus on Jesus.
A Little Prayer Table That Made a Big Impact
A few years ago, I was inspired by an idea that has become one of my favorite Halloween traditions. I came across what Jimmy and Kelly Needham have been doing for Halloween for many years. They have created a much larger outreach that involves king-size candy bars, tables and tents set up outside their home, and volunteers from their church who are available to pray with those who come. I love what they are doing and how intentionally they use Halloween to serve their community and point people to the Lord. They have reached thousands of people by intentionally stepping into the opportunity of people coming to their house!
You can learn more about their approach here. Their example inspired me to consider what a smaller version might look like for our family.
I loved the idea of using Halloween as an opportunity to pray for our neighbors, but I wanted something simple and manageable that we could do right outside our home. In fact, the first year I did it, I actually put the whole thing together on the day of Halloween!
We set up a little table near our driveway. On the table, we placed a sign that said we would love to pray for people, along with slips of paper where anyone who wanted to could write down a prayer request. Trick-or-treaters could stop at the table on their way to our front door, leave a request if they wished, and then continue on to get their candy.
That was it.
And I'll be honest: I had no idea if anyone would actually participate.
Part of me even felt a little embarrassed or wondered if people would think we were weird. But I felt a prompting from the Lord, so I obeyed, no matter what the perception might be.
So, we went out trick-or-treating with our kids that evening, Grandpa manned the front door handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, and when we came back home, I walked over to the table to see what was there.
And there were ten prayer requests!!
I was genuinely moved to tears.
People had stopped, taken a moment, and written down things they wanted prayer for. And the thing that really struck me was that these were real people, who I had maybe even walked by that evening, with real, difficult circumstances happening in their lives, and they were willing to share them with a stranger and receive prayer.
Sometimes, it can be easy to assume that people who don't know Christ won't be receptive to us—and there are some for sure who are not—but there are also plenty of people who would love to receive prayer if a person is willing to offer!
When we came inside, we gathered as a family. Instead of spending the evening focused only on sorting candy, we got to pray over the people who had shared their needs with us. I couldn’t get through it without crying!
And after we prayed, my oldest son asked if he could take the prayer requests to his room and told me he wanted to keep them so he could continue praying for those people.
Cue more tears from this mama.
That first year made such an impression on me that I knew we would do it again.
The following year, we set up the table once more, and we received more requests that we were able to pray over as a family. The slips from that first year have remained in my son's room, just as he asked, and this simple little tradition has become something I look forward to repeating.
Want to try it with your family? Here's what you need
One of the things I love most about this idea is that it can be very simple.
You don't need a large outreach event, a big budget, or a group of volunteers (but you can absolutely do that if you want to!). You don't have to be especially outgoing or feel equipped to have a theological conversation with a stranger. You can start with something as simple as offering to pray for the people who come to your home.
For our family, the prayer table has been a tangible way to communicate that we are followers of Jesus and that we care about the people around us.
And it has also sparked conversation with our kids about loving and reaching our neighbors. And the Lord can use our small offering and multiply it for His glory!
I have even started thinking about ways we might expand this in the years to come. Perhaps we will eventually offer to pray with people in person, too. I am still thinking through what that could look like, but I love the idea of continuing to grow in how we use this evening to serve our neighbors.
If this is something you'd like to try this Halloween, I made a simple printable to help you get started!
The two-page PDF includes:
A small sign inviting people to leave prayer requests.
A page of prayer-request slips that you can print, copy, and cut into thirds.
That's all you need to get started. Print the pages, set out a pen, and find a place where people can comfortably leave their requests. You can place the table near your driveway, on your porch, or wherever makes the most sense for your home.
Then pray together as a family!
Of course, you can make the idea your own. You might choose to offer to pray with people in person, invite your children to help collect the requests, or simply gather as a family at the end of the evening and pray over whatever was shared.
And if a prayer table isn't the right fit for your family, I hope the idea still encourages you to consider other ways to use this evening to love your neighbors and point them to Jesus.
Other Families Have Tried It, Too!
Last year, I shared this printable here and on Instagram, and several of you decided to try it with your own families. When you reported back with your experiences, I was honestly overwhelmed all over again.
I loved reading every single one of these stories. Not because the number of requests is what matters most, but because of what those requests represent: people willing to share a need, children learning to pray for others, and families looking for ways to make Jesus known in their neighborhoods.
I've included some of your messages below because I want you to see what can happen when we take a simple idea and put it into practice. Every neighborhood will be different, and you may receive one request, ten requests, or none at all. The point isn't to measure success by how many slips of paper end up in your basket.
It's about being willing to make room for an opportunity to love your neighbors and pray for them.
If you try this with your family this year, I'd love to hear how it goes! Let me know what you set up, what your kids thought, or how the Lord used the experience in your home.
What a privilege it is to pray for our neighbors and point them to Jesus, even in the simplest ways.
