Satisfying the Hunger
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Satisfying the Hunger... is a blog written by the ministry staff of Evangelism & Church Growth
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Share Christmas
“If I showed up at a church, the walls would probably fall in.” That is, unfortunately, how many unchurched people feel about intersecting with the church. It is their way of saying: My life is too messed up for me to have a place in the church. In Luke 5, the disciples were eating and drinking with tax collectors and those whom the religious community regarded as sinners. The Pharisees thought the disciples should stay with “their own kind,” but Jesus responded: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32) In other words, it’s the very ones who think their lives are too messed up for Jesus who are the ones Jesus invites to share a meal with him.
Christmas is coming, and many churches will pull out all the stops for Christmas eve—poinsettias in every nook and cranny of the sanctuary, brass ensembles, children’s pageants, choral extravaganzas. Many of these churches will encourage their members to invite friends to join them for Christmas eve services, which is a very good thing. But what about those who will not respond to that invitation? What about those who feel that they are too messed up to enter a church sanctuary?
Share Christmas is an initiative to take the good news of Christmas into our neighborhoods. It is an easy to use resource for home parties for children or adults. People who might not come to a church would gladly come to your home for a neighborhood Christmas party. Children who might not know that Christmas is anything more than Frosty and Rudolph can hear the story of Jesus’ birth. Adults who might not think of Christmas as anything more than a shopping season can hear what Christmas means to the party host.
Everything you need to host a Share Christmas gathering is available through the Training Center for Innovative Leadership website. And stay tuned to the website for an upcoming webinar with real people who have used Share Christmas in their neighborhoods.
- Posted at 9:19 a.m.
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