Blog Layout

Trunk or Treat Ideas for

Church with Bible Themes

Hosting or participating in trunk or treat for church during October for Halloween is pretty much my favorite event all year! My husband and I enjoy coming up with new sets each year that kids enjoy and that convey a bible theme, scripture, and message. We do usually go a little over the top, but it is SO worth it when we see all the trunk-or-treaters come by our trunk! Here are quite a few years’ worth of trunk-or-treat ideas for church with bible themes that will surely be a blast!

FARMHOUSE FIXER UPPER WITH CHIP AND JOANNA GAINES TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


That’s right! All the way from Texas and Magnolia Farms we brought the message “home” to kids that God does have the guts to take on a fixer upper! Even when we are a mess, He can make us new creatures. That little house — my husband is actually quite the handyman, so he built it for me. The before and after picture is also real!


TACKY TOURISTS TRUNK OR TREAT THEME 


Aren’t we all just passing through? We didn’t have a full trunk this year because we hosted the event and were “travelers” to make sure things were running smoothly. So, these tacky tourist costumes were the perfect idea. We are jet-setters, but our true bucket-list destination? Well, that one’s easy! I ♥ heaven.


HOW THE WEST WAS LOST IS WON TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


Cowboys and Indians are a classic, but we wanted a positive twist. We wanted to bring the “rivals” together. These cowboys and Indians worked and traveled together in the Wild West to help people find their way to Heaven. Do you know how to get to heaven?


ON THE LORD’S TEAM TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


For this trunk or treat for church with a biblical theme we rounded up all the sports equipment and uniforms we could find. Everyone who accepts Jesus is a winner and HE is the real MVP! We also added a fun golfing game for trick-or-treaters to play as they came by. Whose team are you on?


JESUS IS OUR SUPER HERO TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


The real hero is Jesus! Sin is our kryptonite, but in this trunk or treat bible-themed set up we can marvel at His wondrous works and power of Jesus to cast our sins away.


LAYING UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN/PIRATES TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


Ahoy, Matey! Yes, Jack Sparrow did make an appearance for this trunk or treat for church — in fact, meet Jack and Jewels! This one was Derek’s favorite themes so far; in fact, it was his idea! I even had pirate music playing in the background. So many pirate tricks, but we gave away some treats, too!


OLD-TIME RELIGION TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


This trunk or treat for church with a biblical theme brought together my love of Halloween and my love of antiques. We dressed as a couple from the 1920s, and I played bluegrass music. We used vintage songbooks, suitcases, and other treasures to decorate the trunk.


JESUS IS DEER TO MY HEART TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


For all the hunters and outdoorsy men in your life, this trunk or treat theme is perfect! They will be right in their element, but you can’t “hide” your love for Jesus! We dressed in camouflage and brought Derek’s deer mounts, leaves, etc. The visit from “Lady Bug” girl was just a bonus!


WIZARD OF OZ TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


There’s No Place Like Home – I don’t have a picture of this set up, but we dressed as Dorothy and the Scarecrow from Oz. I had a piece of yellow fabric that I wrote out the Roman’s Road scriptures on to signify the “yellow brick road to home.” And I used a science fair board painted blue with cotton glued on it at the end for the sky.


PIZZERIA – JESUS DOESN’T JUST HAVE A “PIZZA” MY HEART; HE HAS THE WHOLE PIE TRUNK OR TREAT THEME


This pack is perfect for the foodies out there! Stage your trunk like a brick pizza oven or like a quaint pizza shop “store front” from Chicago or New York. Add a cute bistro table and chairs, pizza boxes, and a chef or server costume, and you’ll be set! Slices of pizza instead of candy??? Why not?? Grab the pack here.


WELCOME TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH TRUNK OR TREAT THEME

This theme reminds us that each pumpkin was created uniquely and just like the hand-picked pumpkins you’ll set out at your trunk or treat display, we are chosen and loved by God. Build a barn backdrop for your trunk, add hay bales, a picket fence, drive in a real or toy tractor, and pile on the pumpkins for this trunk or treat set up. Farmer costumes with all the plaid and flannel will complete this theme! Grab the decor pack here.


So many churches are doing these types of Hallow Him or Fall Festival outreaches now, and I really think it’s awesome to have the opportunity to reach people in this way. That’s why it has always been so important to me and my husband that we use this event to create a trunk with a biblical theme that we can use to start a conversation about Christ. That is our commandment: to go out and tell. Let’s do that: Let’s tell the world this October – with a little piece of candy and some costumes – how much Jesus loves them!


Plus… don’t forget the candy! It’s the part that goes home with everyone, so we always attach a message to our candy. Each trunk or treat decor pack comes with matching candy labels.


Download a set of the candy labels here for free.


Also, do you teach Sunday School or Kids’ Church? Take a look at my Halloween Bible Lessons for Prek-2nd and my original children’s book for Thanksgiving!




Love this content?

Sign up for my email newsletter with more tips, ideas, success stories, and freebies!


Old-Fashioned Test Prep That Works: A Proven Approach for Middle and High School English
By Julie Faulkner February 20, 2025
Let me let you in on a little secret: I actually like test prep season! I don't love that students have to take the tests (we can discuss that another day), but what I love is that this time is when we can slow down and reflect. There's no more pressure to teach new material, and it's also a signal that the end of the year is near! However, I know that means students are also super close to done and prepping for tests can really start to wear them thin. That’s why I stick to test prep strategies that work—no fluff, no gimmicks, just solid, old-fashioned review. While flashy new methods come and go, the classic approach still delivers results. By focusing on structured review, targeted practice, and immediate feedback, we can keep students engaged without burning them out. Here’s how to make test prep both effective and manageable.
Mastering Academic Feedback on Writing
By Julie Faulkner January 2, 2025
Providing effective academic feedback on writing is one of the most impactful ways educators can support student growth. Research and experience consistently show that timely, meaningful feedback clarifies expectations and helps students develop critical skills for success in writing and beyond. Whether you’re following evaluation rubrics like TEAM or preparing students for AP Language standards or EOC writing tests, creating a system for giving and receiving feedback is essential. In this post, I’ll summarize five key strategies to make academic feedback a game-changer in your classroom.
Student-Centered Teaching Strategies: Engage Your Class Without the Stress
By Julie Faulkner November 27, 2024
There are those times when "teachering" just isn’t optimal. What do I mean by that? "Teachering," as defined by me, involves delivering new material, expecting students to produce immediate results, or spending the entire class in direct instruction when students are already overloaded or overstimulated. These times include—but are not limited to—the days before a break, the holiday season, the week of a full moon, half days, or even the day after Halloween. During these moments, the best approach is to shift the focus away from you and onto your students. Let them lead, apply what they’ve already learned, reflect on their progress, and take ownership of their work. This hands-off teaching strategy creates a structured yet low-stress classroom environment where students stay calm, focused, and productive.
Insights from a Student Teacher of High School English
July 25, 2024
It’s a unique situation for both parties of a student-teaching experience: on the one hand from the point of view of the student teacher, you are entering someone else’s classroom and you may be teaching solo for the first time, and on the other hand, you may be the classroom teacher who is welcoming someone else into your classroom to take the lead. To say the least, this is a tricky space to navigate. That’s why I thought it would be interesting to speak directly to a student teacher – to hear her thoughts and experiences. Whether you are a cooperating/mentoring teacher of a student teacher or you are a student teacher heading into the classroom, this interview with a student teacher of high school English (Miss M), who just completed her placement, is very enlightening.
Everything You Need to Know About How to Sell the Yearbook
July 25, 2024
You’ve worked hard for half a year or longer to create this beautiful time capsule — the yearbook. You’ve sold advertisements, taken pictures, written headlines and captions, and included as many students as possible. BUT — what if no one sees what you and your staffers have created? That may be a little hyperbolic, but it is super important to have a strategy in place not just for creating the yearbook but for selling it as well. Here’s everything you need to know about how to sell the yearbook!
Make Your Yearbook More Diverse & Inlcusive with These Easy Tips
July 25, 2024
Our yearbook staff’s motto is “Everybody’s Story. Everybody’s Book.” That means everyone! Not just the seniors, the athletes, the staffers and their friends, certain cliques – everybody. Why does that matter? For one, if we are creating a book for people to purchase, they need to be reflected in it; or they won’t purchase it. But the bigger, more important reason is simply that we are telling the story of a year, and without every person represented, considered, and included in the yearbook design, we haven’t done our job: We haven’t told the true story of the year at all if we let bias or favoritism creep in or if we get lazy with coverage and choices. The yearbook must be an accurate time capsule with reflections of each person’s interests, styles, talents, abilities, and backgrounds. Therefore, you can make your yearbook more diverse and inclusive with these easy steps! Tips for your yearbook pages and beyond.
Planning the First Week of Yearbook Class
July 25, 2024
You’ve just been assigned the yearbook, or last year didn’t go so well, and you want your first days plans to be solid, effective, and fun! Does this sound like you? I’ve been there. The first week of school is a whirlwind, but in yearbook class, the first week back to school is even more topsy turvy, to say the least. You might have looked through my Tips for New Advisers post or How to Have a Picture-Perfect Start to the Year posts for adviser-facing suggestions, and you feel good-to-go from that side of things. However, now it’s time to decide what to do when students are walking through the door — AKA planning the first week of yearbook class! When I think about what to do the first week of school in my yearbook class, I try to think of it like one my English classes in some ways, and in other ways, it is completely different! In this blog post, I’ll share my student-facing plans for the first week of yearbook class.
What the COVID-19 Pandemic Did Not Change About My Classroom
July 25, 2024
The 2020-2021 school year was the year of the unexpected, the year of changes, the year of disappointments, the year of frustrations, and certainly the year of loss. It goes down in my book as the hardest year of my teaching career — that includes the first year I taught in middle school, the first year I was a lead in an inclusion classroom, the year I taught while building a house, the first year I was the new yearbook adviser, and the year I taught while having multiple surgeries for some serious medical issues. And let’s not forget that I actually contracted COVID-19 THE. FIRST. DAY. BACK of teacher in-service. However, I didn’t quit. I did survive, and I’m going back. That said, I am choosing to look at the positive — shall we say, “COVID Positive” — Bad pun. Anyway, despite all change that occurred this year — schedules, classrooms, assignments, students, and more, there were a few things that I’m thankful that the COVID-19 pandemic did not change about my classroom.
5 Ways to Use Class Time After the Yearbook is Complete
July 25, 2024
The yearbook is complete, submitted, done. Now what? You have several months of school left, and you aren’t sure how to keep your students on task for the remaining days. Does this sound familiar? With spring delivery or even summer delivery books where students take yearbook/journalism as a class, it’s often difficult — and even daunting — to come up with creative and constructive ways to use that time. As we all know, doing nothing is not an option! In this blog post, I’ll share 5 ways to use class time after the yearbook is complete.
How to Re-Purpose Lesson Plans & Materials for Digital Classrooms
July 25, 2024
Whether you are teaching via full remote learning, on a hybrid schedule, or blending your in-person classes with virtual classrooms, you’ll need your lesson plans and materials ready for digital classrooms. The good news is — you can re-purpose lesson plans and materials for digital classrooms without reinventing the wheel or making all new activities, worksheets, files, etc. In this blog post, I hope to share some hacks you can use to easily convert, edit, and share what you have from your traditional classroom right into your digital classroom.
More Posts
Share by: