Why We Celebrate Halloween

Every year on Halloween, it's inevitable that there is controversy from Christians. The whole "To celebrate or not to celebrate" debate is seen on every form of social media. I am a Christian. I am a Christ follower. Jesus is Lord of my life. And I celebrate Halloween. *gasp*

I believe that instead of hiding in your prayer closet on what is said to be an evil holiday...maybe, just maybe, we should put our focus outward. I truly believe with all my heart that if Jesus were here on earth today - you would find him at the trunk or treats. Why? Because it's a chance to reach the lost. I recently attended my parents church trunk or treat with my children and there were hundreds of people there. This is a church that my dad has been the pastor of for 21 years. I grew up in this church, and I only knew a fraction of the people who attended the trunk or treat. This is ministry. This is a chance to take what people call the most evil day of the year, and turn it into something pleasing to the Lord. There are people who would never step foot in a church on any other day, but they are taking the time to visit churches on Halloween for trunk or treat. We are planting seeds that one day may bear fruit.

Now, when my family does Halloween, we have "rules". We don't call it harvest or a hallelujah party - we call it what it is. It's Halloween. Why call it something else? It doesn't make it more holy by calling it an alternative name. We celebrate Halloween...but we do it God's way. We have do's and don'ts. We DO embrace the fun. We DO make it all about family time. We DO dress up. We DO pray for our kids, that they will be protected by any form of evil in the spirit realm. We DON'T let them dress as anything evil or scary. We DON'T take them to haunted houses or places with demonic costumes or decor and we DON'T deny that we have fun celebrating Halloween. That is something we will not be ashamed of.

Regardless of your stance, I see both sides. I understand the people who feel wrong about celebrating Halloween. It's not those people who bother me. The people who get under my skin are those who shame other Christians for participating. Your convictions and my convictions may not be the same, but that doesn't make either one of us wrong. If you feel that your place on Halloween is sitting at home, praying for the hearts of those who are out celebrating - then by all means, pray! That's an awesome thing that God has put on your heart. If you feel that handing out candy and ministering to kids at a church trunk or treat is where you need to be - do it! And do it shamelessly! If you want to go make memories with your children, then go take them out and have fun. If you have a conviction, listen to it. We are all going to celebrate this day in a different way. None of those ways, unless you are worshiping the devil, are wrong. Pray about it and ask God to guide your decision. We have and we feel no guilt in taking our kids out, innocently dressed, for a night of family fun.

There is nothing evil about this -