Putting the Reason in the Season

As you consider blending tradition with outreach, here are some ideas you might want to try this Christmas season:

• Organize the service around the theme: The real meaning of the 12 days of Christmas. It's a song most everyone knows and is rich in Christian metaphor.
• Hold a birthday party for Jesus with cake and gifts and prizes. Along with traditional Christmas songs, sing "Happy Birthday," and talk about the reason why we celebrate His birthday.
• Interview the real Saint Nicholas! Not Santa Claus, but the fourth century Turkish priest who was known for his kindness and generosity. His life is still held in precious memory by the people of Holland, and other countries.
• Make the focus of the service compassion and social justice. Raise the congregation's awareness of the less fortunate of the world by taking an offering for the Nazarene World Hunger and Disaster Fund. Talk about Jesus' mission: "To preach good news to the poor . . . to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed" (Luke 4:18).
• Invite. Invite. Invite. Classmates, neighbors, work associates. Especially invite those who may have to spend Christmas alone to come to your church—after all, Christmas is a very difficult, lonely time of the year for some people. Print tickets to your Christmas service. When someone you invite comes to church, invite them home for eggnog and fruitcake afterward. Make a friend and change a life.