Im Not Afraid Of The Dark, The Dark’s Afraid Of Me

By Morgan Groenewald / collect.assembly

I know there are a lot of opinions in the Christian world when it comes to Halloween. Some families completely avoid it, others embrace it for what it is, and then there are those of us somewhere in between just trying to walk in wisdom and peace.

Side note: It really saddens me when people call that “lukewarm,” because that implies you haven’t thought about it. However, I feel very strongly that this is right for me and my family, for where we are at right now.

For a short while, I was in the “hide away” camp. We’d shut off the lights, stay inside, and treat the night like something to be endured instead of engaged. I did it out of a sincere desire to honor God and stay separate from anything that even looked dark.

But honestly? It never sat right with me.

At some point, I started realizing that fear and avoidance weren’t the same as holiness. Jesus didn’t shy away from darkness, He walked right into it. He met us there, in the middle of it, and created light where there was none.

So we started asking, What would it look like to do that in our neighborhood?

What would it look like to stop hiding from the world and instead step into it, not to blend in, but to bring something different? To live in such a way that people feel the presence of Christ before they ever hear His name?

That last line is so important to me because that’s the kind of holiness Jesus modeled. He didn’t retreat from broken places; He redeemed them. And that’s the kind of light I want our family to carry: steady, unafraid, and present right where it’s needed most.

There’s this Rend Collective Kids song my children love that says:

“I’m not afraid of the dark,

The dark’s afraid of me.

I’m not afraid ‘cause Your heart

Is shining bright in me.”

That’s so so powerful! I don’t want to raise kids who are afraid of the dark, I want to raise kids who know that the dark is afraid of the light that is in them because of their relationship with Jesus. I want them to know without a shadow of a doubt that there is power in His name!

We talk openly with our kids about where Halloween actually came from. Halloween’s roots go back over 2,000 years to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”). It marked the end of harvest and the beginning of winter, a time the Celts believed the barrier between the living and the dead was thin. They lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off wandering spirits.

When Christianity spread to those regions, the church didn’t invent Halloween, but it did try to redeem the date. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III established All Saints’ Day (also called All Hallows’ Day) on November 1st, a day to honor all the saints who had gone before. The night before became known as All Hallows’ Eve, which, over time, shortened into “Halloween.”

As centuries passed, different cultures mixed old customs with new ones. Some darker traditions and superstitions lingered, and yes, some groups who follow occult practices treat it as a day for spiritual rituals which is why many Christians still feel the need for caution and discernment. But the truth is, Halloween’s story is complicated yet not inherently evil. There are certainly people who use the day for darkness, but that doesn’t have to define it for everyone.

We also don’t shy away from talking about how some people still use this night for things that are deeply opposed to God: rituals that glorify darkness, mock holiness, or even celebrate harm and fear. Whether those acts happen in secret or in symbolism, they remind us that evil is real and that people can be led into deception when they turn away from the light. I don’t share these things to frighten my children, but to give them discernment and to show them how serious it is when people replace the worship of the Creator with worship of darkness. And then we remind them: the name of Jesus is above every name. His name is powerful enough to expose and defeat the darkness, always and forever.

For most families, Halloween is simply a night of costumes, laughter and connection, a fun cultural tradition that gives kids and parents a reason to go outside, meet their neighbours, and enjoy community together.

When we label the whole thing as evil, we miss opportunities to bring light into ordinary moments. Its not about pretending darkness doesn’t exist, its about remembering that it never gets to define the story.

So this year, we’re going out.

Not to celebrate fear or pretend evil is fun.

To visit our neighbors.

To laugh with our kids.

To dress up in goofy costumes and create memories as a family.

To giggle about how totally NOT scary the decorations are and remember that a skeleton is simply a part of all of our bodies. (And honestly, they got the spinal cord all wrong 😉)

To show up in our community with joy and light and generosity.

To “live in the world but not of the world” in the way we believe is right for our family.

And I know what some of you are thinking, “Jesus didn’t bring kids into that.” And you’re right, he didn’t. But he also didn’t hide them away from the world. He brought them close, blessed them, and showed them what love looks like in the middle of a broken world. I want my kids to see that too, not from a distance, but right there beside us as we live it out.

Maybe somewhere along the way, a lot of Christians confused holiness with distance. (And now I’m referring to much more than just Halloween here.)

Maybe that’s part of why the church isn’t respected the way it once was. It’s not because we offer truth but because we offer it without grace, compassion and understanding. We say we want to reach the world, yet we act like we’re too clean to touch it. The result? We don’t look holy, we just look unapproachable. Sometimes, even hypocritical.

Over time we have made our faith so black and white that we have an identity crisis if someone even dares to suggest a different perspective than the one we hold so dear. There are aspects of our faith that are “hills to die on” (like the truth found in the Apostles’ Creed) but not everything in our faith is that absolute. I think we need to learn to hold our faith with an open hand. To not be afraid to challenge, wrestle, and ask questions, because that’s how we grow. The more we know, the more we realize how much we don’t know and what a beautiful place that is to be!

Rant over… back to the topic of Halloween.

I genuinely believe families can honor God differently in this season.

If your conviction leads you to stay home and pray, bless you.

If you’re out there with the full costume and candy bowl, bless you too.

If you attend an alternate family fun night, bless you and I hope you have the best time!

Whatever the Spirit leads you and your family to do, just remember, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. And if that’s true, then there’s no night too dark for His light to shine through.

You don’t need to be afraid of the dark because the dark is afraid of the light that is in you through Jesus Christ!

Amen?