Community outreach tips for Christmas
Community Outreach Tips for Christmas
from Lutheran Hour Ministries’ Equipping to Share newsletter
If you haven’t yet made plans to connect with your community this Christmas, now is no time to dawdle. We will help you along by providing the ideas so you can focus on gathering your team and resources to quickly engage for Christmas outreach!
Bring church to the community.
In a community gathering area
-perform a Christmas production.
-conduct your Christmas Eve Service.
Provide Senior Citizens with a ride
-to a lights display.
-Christmas shopping.
Go Caroling
-in low income areas
-on a street corner or out front of a store.
-Hand out hot chocolate and candy canes.
at senior centers.
-Bring the children to sing.
-Bring Christmas cookies.
Offer give-aways on college campuses.
-Hot chocolate
-Christmas cookies
-Candy canes
-Gas cards to drive home
Offer free daycare for community parents to Christmas shop (if licensed).
Bless Business people.
Surprise employees by delivering a basket or stocking of Christmas goodies to be shared by the staff. Include a card that says, “Merry Christmas (or Blessed Christmas)! This is a busy time of year for you. We want you to know how much we appreciate you and to show you God’s love in a practical way!”
Give away Christmas trees.
A week before Christmas, contact Christmas tree lot owners around the area. A few days before Christmas, they may be willing to give away their remaining trees. Deliver these to financially stretched single parent families.
Utilize witnessing tools to spread the Christmas message.
Give out nails or candy cane ornaments with the Gospel message attached and an invitation to your Christmas event.
Perform random acts of kindness in the community.
-Shovel snow for the congregation’s neighbors.
-Provide free gift-wrapping at the mall. Depending on your mall, you may have to rent the space.
-Feed the homeless.
One2oneconnect's Blog 
December 4, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Respecting “Bless Business people” I agree that this would be a great time of giving. However,
Why would the card say “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas? Which holiday would we be referring to? Why not just come out and say it…or are we looking for political correctness, and ashamed of our Saviour’s birth..?
December 4, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Bill,
The editor of the newsletter at Lutheran Hour Ministries gives this response:
“It was an oversight; and we certainly appreciate his comment, agree with it and thank him for bringing it to our attention”
I am changing the text to read “Merry Christmas” on behalf of the original author.