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It’s that time of year again when churches focus on the celebration of the birth of Jesus. We can’t afford to pass up the extra attention that people tend to give to the greatest story ever told. This post is an open thread. Use the comments below to tell us what your church has planned for the holidays. Your name, along with your comment, might just wind up in lights!
Go!
About Brandon CoxBrandon Cox has been a Pastor for fifteen years and is currently planting a church in northwest Arkansas, sponsored by Saddleback Church and other strategic partners. He also serves as Editor of Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastors' Toolbox, and authors a top 100 blog for church leaders.
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my wife and i are participating in a live nativity scene. everything from camels to donkeys, and wise men to roman soldiers. it is really something spectacular. until the end. my 28 year daughter just went through it. she talked about how realistic all the scenes were and how everything reflected the events that took place around the birth of our savior. then the preacher, at the final scene, told everybody that if they didn’t accept this free gift they would die and go to hell. no love, no caring. although that statement is true i believe the gift of Jesus should be wrapped in love and shared in a way that makes people want their savior, not scare them with the alternative. please whatever you do this year and whatever decorations you put up, make the light of the love of God shine brighter than anything else.
This year we are planning a Good Neighbor Weekend in December and calling it Aloha Kona Weekend. Aloha Kona means “Sharing God’s Love in Kona”. That weekend we take the church mobile with different small groups and families planning to bless their neighbors, neighborhood and the community with different outreach events. Some are planning “free car washes”, others are helping non-profit groups like Salvation Army. Another group has an event to bless the women with a lunch gathering and still others are making an effort to reach out and bless their next door neighbors. This all takes place on the weekend of December 8-9.
We’re having an old fashion Christmas party, with hot cocoa, and desserts. We’ll sing some carols, and pass out some toys to the people in the neighborhood. We’ll also go door to door with any left over gifts. Nothing really creative but I figure just getting people into the doors and meeting my family of believers is the first step.