In This Issue: Christmas Is for Mobilizing – Follow-up
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Practical Mobilization by Shane Bennett is published once a month.
Christmas Is for Mobilizing: Follow-up
By Shane Bennett
So Halloween’s behind us. The devil’s had his due. Now we can turn our thoughts and minds toward Advent and Christmas. (Here in the U.S. one of our most Christian holidays – Thanksgiving – comes first, but I realize it’s not celebrated everywhere.) In last month’s Practical Mobilization, I asked how we might communicate God’s heart for the nations to our constituency, particularly at Christmas time. Responses came in from Finland to Singapore, and included suggestions on how to teach kids about missions at Christmas, provide Christmas-oriented outreach opportunities, expand senders’ understanding of unreached peoples, and how to care for missionaries at Christmas.
Here are some ideas that may be helpful:
Karen offered a lesson curriculum for young children that leads them through a celebration of Jesus’ birthday to the conclusion that our light needs to spread to unreached groups. Click here to download a simple PDF of the lesson.
In a similar vein, Jill offered several ideas for tweaking traditional Christmas crafts to open kids eyes to unreached peoples. Rather than list them, please click here for Jill’s ideas.
From Finland, Anitta wrote about her excitement to open up her church this Christmas to “the poor, the homeless, the unemployed, the lonely, whoever will not be able to celebrate the Christmas Eve with their family.” They’ve asked local groceries to provide food; the planning team is praying; they’ll open the doors early so that visitors can help prepare the party; and finally (I love this part), “Maybe we have the sauna on, because that is a big thing for Finns, and we have one at the church.”
Rick commented, “One Christmas video that can be shared with international families who have been invited to spend part of our celebration with us is Ray VanderLaan’s Christmas video in his ‘That the World May Know’ series.” To download the order form for “The True Christmas Story” video (on DVD or VHS), click here.
Henry wrote from Southeast Asia, “We have always sought to convey the message that Christmas should be seen as the celebration of the coming of the Savior of the WORLD. So, in our year-end newsletter to people back in North America, usually folded into the shape of a card, we would put a Christmas scene as it would look in our area of the world, with the Bethlehem star shining down on a hut in the jungle, or an Asian mother holding a newborn child in a sarong …”
Using Christmas as an opportunity to bless current missionaries, a couple of people mentioned sending a special gift to workers at this time. One church even takes the time to ask their missionaries what they’d like for Christmas, then bundles it up and sends it off!
Finally, a wise word from a veteran mobilizer, “Some years ago I remember coming back from spending a few months in Central Asia, hoping that friends back home would ask me how to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in that country’s language. Then I could explain, dramatically, how they didn’t celebrate Christmas in that country and why. There were only six known believers in the country at that time. I’ve since seen that shock, guilt, and revealing other people’s ignorance are not very effective in mobilization and that probably Jesus does not want us to treat people that way.”
She goes on to suggest a cool way to build world focus into your own family’s Christmas celebration. “Adopt some Middle Eastern traditions for your family Christmas. This will allow you to identify with those who experienced the first Christmas and with some of those in most need of the gospel at the same time. Visit your local international market and ask about Mediterranean or Middle Eastern foods. You might also want to learn some of the blessings, table manners, and other appropriate traditions, and practice some of them with your children.”
May God bless your Christmas and may he use you to communicate his global gift to many this season.
Questions? Problems? Submissions? Contact publisher/managing editor Marti Smith.