RP: Using a pumpkin to share the Gospel

It's that almost Halloween and time for pumpkin carving. Here's a post that I did last year:


I am aware that in Christian circles Halloween can be a hot topic. From what I know the celebration does indeed have it’s roots in pagan celebrations. Knowing that I understand that families would not like to be involved in typical activities on the 31^st. Having stated that, I also know that there are many who dress up but with certain restrictions, and instead of going door-to-door they choose to go to a church carnival or something. Still others, see this as an opportunity to be involved in the community and reach out. I’m not sure where you stand, but I have nothing against any of them.

One thing I do love is family traditions. Just recently someone showed me the “pumpkin Gospel” (I would prefer to give it a more God-centered title J .i.e. “Using pumpkins to share the Gospel” but it is sorta long ) and I thought it’d be a great tradition go to the pumpkin patch each year in the excitement of going home to hear “daddy” tell the gospel story with a pumpkin.

Here is a video I found that goes through the “Pumpkin Gospel”

These are the steps he goes through:

The Seed

Hold it- Romans 3:23 “All fall short”

Cut it- Romans 6: 23 “ Payment for sin is death”

Dig it- John 3:16 “ Jesus died for our sins”

Carve it- 2 Corinthians 5:17 “New creation”

Light it- Mathew 5: 16 “letting your light shine”

(I found this website where more in-depth questions are asked at each step)

This tradition doesn’t have to stay within the family either! Make it a community time. Share the gospel with families at a “Pumpkin carving Party” and then have a “Story” of the GOSPEL. 

Children's Ministry

Over the past few months I’ve really been having this overwhelming passion to share the gospel with children. As I’ve prayed God’s opened some doors. The teacher I work with, Amy, asked me to do the Bible Curriculum this year! Also, I’ve been learning more about the vision of the Children’s Ministry at my own church.

So what is Children’s Ministry? Is it Sunday School? Is it youth group?

Regrettably, I sometimes get this icky feeling that parents want Sunday school teachers and their children’s Christian Schools to teach them the Gospel and so I try to pray. “Lord, may no parent bring their child to us, thinking we will take care of their spiritual life.” That sort of thinking really scares me.

In relation to these thoughts, I’ve been skimming through this book called “Generation to Generation” by Wayne Rice. I’m going to some kind of seminar on it, so I thought I’d check it out beforehand. The beginning of it gave some really good things to think about. Here’s a few:

…According to a study conducted in 2007, 70% of young adult ages 23 to 30 say they stopped attending churches between the ages of 18 and 22…

..researcher Ed Stetzer noted: ‘There is no easy way to say it, but it must be said. Parents are not passing on a robust Christian faith and an accompanying commitment to the church…[We] have to ask the hard questions, ‘what is it about our faith commitment that does not find root in the lives of our children?”

…The National Study of Youth and Religion, the largest, most comprehensive study on the religious and spiritual lives of American youth to date, was conducted by the University of North Carolina to determine who or what has the greatest influence on the formation of adolescent faith and values. Christian Smith, one of the study researchers, came to this conclusion: “Contrary to popular misguided cultural stereotypes and frequent parental misconceptions…the evidence clearly shows that the single most important social influence on the religious and spiritual lives of adolescents is their parents.”

Some very interesting quotes there. If you were a Christian in high school, then you can totally relate to the first quote. All the people you thought were “on-fire” seemed not to be quite so on-fire anymore. Concerning the second quote: yes, clearly there’s something missing. Why has the faith of parents not taken root in children’s lives?  Another good question I would add is, “are children’s Sunday schools and Youth Groups really passing on that robust faith? Is it even their responsibility?” To the 3^rd quote I say, University of North Carolina is only echoing what Deuteronomy 6: 6-9 calls parents to do: teach The Word diligently.

So is Sunday School going to do the trick? No it simply won’t. Will Christian Schools or homeschooling do the trick? It won’t. Parents teaching God’s word to children diligently will keep a generation loving and treasuring Christ, the overflow of that will be a generation loving the Church.

So what’s children’s Ministry? Teaching children to love and treasure Christ? Nope. Teaching parents how to do that with their children is the key here- that is Children’s Ministry. After all, according the University of North Carolina they do have “single most important social influence” on their children ;) wink. wink.