It’s Time to Plan for Halloween

All Hallows Eve, the eve of All Saints Day, is less than a month away. But if we get moving, we can still take advantage of the best opportunity we’ll have all year to interact with our neighbors—and on our own turf. For less than $35, we can establish ourselves as having the funnest house, being the coolest neighbors, and handing out the most fab candy.

Children come to the door and hope we’re home. What other time of the year does that happen? Here are some ways to carpe diem on October 31:

. Pray for the Spirit to use and guide you. . Carve a jack-o-lantern. Or two. Decorate. Go for some curb appeal.

. Buy good candy. I mean the really good stuff, not the microscopic dots of chocolate. Hand out normal-sized candy: Hershey’s bars, Butterfingers, and Heaths; entire packs of gum; the stuff that makes kids eyes light up.

. Stay home. If your church hosts a harvest festival, consider having at least one family member skip it this year. As my friend Dr. Dan Wallace says, “What an opportunity for the gospel! Yet increasingly evangelical churches are having their own ‘Fall Fun Festival’ in place of Halloween. It’s certainly safer, but so is living in a cave.” Take advantage of the “kairos” opportunity to connect.

. Get in character. Don royal satin with your tiara and spend your door-opening evening as Queen Esther. If you have kids or grandkids, get them in on the act. And you don’t have to limit yourself to Bible characters. Grab a light saber and become Princess Leia. If Obi-Wan Kenobi comes to your door, go ahead and exclaim, “I knew you’d come!”

. Talk to each kid. Comment on costumes. Ask names. Find out if they live nearby and if so, where. If their parents are standing nearby, greet them too. When Harry Potter shows up, tell him, “I heard you have special powers over evil because someone died to save you” (i.e., his mom in book one). . Offer a candy exchange. Ask kids if they’ve received any candy they don’t like. When they shyly nod, tell them they can exchange their yucky stuff for the good stuff in your bowl—new candy for old.

. Share the gospel. Many Halloween tracts are corny, so why not make your own? You can download a really good one (which uses the NET Bible) at www.allthehubbub.org/projects.html. Or write one. Your message can be simple, written on a sheet of orange paper folded and taped to the candy. Google “Halloween Jokes and One-Liners” and you can find some fun content. And/or create your own crossword or word-search puzzle—again, easily created online. Whatever you decide, be sure to provide a fun activity so they’ll want to keep the paper. At the bottom write something like this: Halloween was originally Hallowed Eve or All Hallows Eve, the night before “All Saints Day,” a holiday set aside for remembering people who died trusting in Jesus Christ. Today on Halloween people joke about zombies and hell, but death and eternal separation from God aren’t really funny, are they? Each of us will someday stand before God. We can either suffer the penalty for our sin (scary!), or we can exchange our guilt for Jesus’ goodness (hope!). The Bible, God’s message to us, talks about eternal life: “The one who has the Son [Jesus] has life; the one who does not have the Son does not have the life.” Jesus, God’s Son, loved us so much that He died and rose again so we could have new life. Do you want eternal life? Believe in the Son. Talk to God and thank him for sending Jesus to exchange His life for yours so you can live with God forever—no ghosts, zombies, wraiths, skeletons, or ghouls.