5 Ways to make Christmas evangelistic

By Ted Traylor

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!

 

Published May 30, 2018

Ted Traylor

Since 1990 Dr. Ted Traylor is the pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. His weekly radio and television ministry, At the Heart of Things, reaches thousands of homes along the Gulf Coast and through weekly podcasts and streaming. Dr. Traylor’s bold and practical preaching brings people to a fresh understanding of God’s Word and challenges them to become bondservants for Christ. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Religion from Samford University in 1997 and a Master of Divinity (1981) and Doctor of Ministry (1986) degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to serving as First Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000 and President of the Florida Baptist Convention in 1995, Dr. Traylor was President of the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2004 Pastors’ Conference, 2010 Pensacola Bay Baptist Association moderator, and was part of the 2010 Great Commission Resurgence Task force team. Currently Dr. Traylor is proud to serve on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes board for the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!).