The birth of Jesus was a good news gospel announcement. We must continue trumpeting our Savior has been born. The month of December is a ripe time for evangelism. Here are some ideas that may help you this Christmas season.
Services
Most churches have one or more special music services around Christmas. Pray and dialogue with your music leader about the gospel. Testimonies are powerful. Use choir members or others to share their stories. And having the pastor make a direct gospel appeal is mandatory. A designated place for people to go and respond after the service is great. We call ours Next Step tables, located in the foyer and easily accessible for all attendees.
Gifts
Christmas is the season for giving. While we challenge our people to contribute to missions in December, we believe it is also a good time for the church to give gifts to non-churched people. A small book that presents the gospel is powerful. Have one for every guest who comes during the month of December. This year we are using the booklet by O.S. Hawkins. Hal Seed has a small book, God Questions, that we have used in the past.
Christmas Eve
During the past ten years at Olive this has consistently become our largest gathering. Many lost people come with family and friends to these services. We endeavor to portray and proclaim the gospel. Baptism on Christmas Eve makes a great impact and allows people to tell their story. Give a biblical explanation of the ordinance. The Christmas Eve sermon should be gospel dynamite. A small package (maybe shorter than normal message) can make an explosion in the heart of a lost person. Be creative. Challenge people to go public with their response to the child of Christmas who left an empty tomb.
Neighbors
Olive prints Christmas Eve invitations and distributes to our members. We then designate a Sunday afternoon to visit 5-8 of our neighbors. We encourage our people to bake cookies or bread and deliver with the printed invite.
Planning
Make a plan. Do not allow the day to slip up on you. Prayerfully plan now!