Stewardship E-News, October 07

Bob Tallent, RGTallent@Comcast.net, 856-778-6117

bobbybaptist.blogspot.com

Christmas is coming!  It will be here before you know it. And if you are like me you are looking for ideas for the season. It is a great opportunity. You can do things to reach out such as a Christmas Eve service. You can preach on the glorious Incarnation is so many different ways. And you can use the season to teach Christian generosity. I remember many years ago, I had a hard headed deacon who was often a pain. But he rightly said about Christmas that “the Holy Spirit was more active at this time of year.” I am sure you have things you traditionally do and what a church does depends in part on its size and resources. But let me share with you some ideas:

Have a “mitten tree.” Decorate a Christmas tree with children’s mittens and gloves and winter hats, etc. Unwrapped children’s gifts can be placed under the tree. At Christmas, these gifts can be given to needy children, or a children’s service organization. My church used to give them to the prison chaplain for the children of prisoners.

I am sure many of you mail out a Christmas letter. You can get special Christmas stationery at most Christian book store. Many are very attractive and creative. You can also get coordinated envelopes if you wish.  Or with modern computer programs, you can make your own. If you send it out early enough, you can include your special Christmas events schedule. I would encourage you to make your mailing list as inclusive as possible. Consider this in some sense an advertisement. But keep it on a very high spiritual plane.

One Baptist church near us has a live manger scene every year. People line up for blocks to go through the displays. I am sure this is a tremendous amount of work that only a relatively larger church can do. But it is very effective.

As I mentioned above, you can have a special service. Christmas Eve services are popular with the unchurched population and every year I have seen visitors at this service.  Sometimes these people later come into the church. There are various formats often with some sort of candle lighting involved. But one thing we did was to have wide participation—almost like a talent show. We started with the children or the less experienced performers. Somewhere past halfway, I would have a message on some detail of the Christmas story. And then progress to the better performers (both music and poetry) climaxing with a candlelight rendition of  “O Holy Night” maybe followed by the congregation singing “Silent Night.”

This year we are making up shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child. This is a simple but delightful project. You can find out more at www.samaritanspurse.org.

And, of course, you will not want to forget the Lottie Moon Annual Christmas Offering for World Missions conducted by the Women’s Missionary Union on behalf of the  SBC International Mission Board. The national goal for 2007 is $165 million. We have 5148 missionaries. Nearly a half-million professions of faith were made last year through this ministry.  Set a goal for your church and make it a big deal.

Did you consider increasing you gifts to the Co-operative Program for next year’s budget?

See you in Gettysburg!