Christmas Eve Service

Christmas Eve Service
For the past five years the Assembly in Clementsvale, Nova Scotia (Canada)has had the opportunity to reach out to the community in the Gospel by holding a Christmas Eve Service. The idea all began when a co-worker asked if our “church” had a Christmas Eve Service. He and his father did not regularly attend any church, but liked to attend a service somewhere on Christmas Eve. It led us to ask the question, “Why not?” If there are people out there who turn their thinking to Christ at Christmas time, why not take the opportunity to present them with the message about Christ from the scriptures?

The following year we decided to try it – not knowing if anyone would actually venture out, with the busyness of finishing up their gift wrapping on Christmas Eve. In preparation we mailed out about 1,500 invitation to the surrounding rural communities. On the back of the invitation we also printed a gospel message, condensed from a Christmas Tract, in hopes that some might read it even if they didn’t come.

Click here to see the invitation.

(Good Christmas Tracts are available from “Moments with The Book” www.mwtb.org/site/gospel-tracts/topics/christmas-tracts.html.)

The ladies prepared baked goods and hot apple cider for a snack afterwards. That first year we were pleasantly surprised by having approximately 15 people from the community attending as well as some of the Christians’ families. Many of them had never been in the building before. That was enough encouragement to continue each year since then.

 
The Service
We begin the service with about 20 minutes of singing good Christmas Carols, many of which are packed with truth from the scriptures. For the first three years we used an overhead projector for the songs; since then we have used a printed program. The singing is followed by a prayer and a 15 minute gospel message with a Christmas theme. After that we have a table at the back with the snack. It allows us the opportunity to mingle and chat with the people who have come. We also have a table with gospel literature, texts, gospel calendars, etc.



The Encouragement
We have been encouraged by the attendance of many who would rarely attend “church.” We include in our invitation that the service is “Non-Denominational” hoping to make everyone feel welcome to attend. Each year we get a good number of visitors from the community as well as some unsaved relatives of the Christians.
 

In 2009 a lady attended who is a relative of one of the Christians. The message was about “The Visitors in Bethlehem” and the speaker emphasized that “God visited Earth” in the person of Christ. She questioned the statement that “Christ is God.” She had been previously exposed to wrong doctrine by people meeting with her in her home and telling her that Christ is not God. The Lord used that message to speak to her and she began attending a series of gospel meetings which began the next month. She was saved in that series and today she is in fellowship in the assembly. We give God the glory and look to Him for further blessing.

For further information or for electronic copies of any of our invitations or programs, please contact David & Pamela McClelland.

Seizing the Christmas Opportunity in the Community

Editor's Note: Yes, it is after Christmas, but now is the time to mark it on your calendar to start working on it in 10 months time, if the Lord hasn't come. The great thing about a blog is you can scan the labels for keywords e.g. Christmas, Easter, community, prisons, etc. Click on the word (the tag) of interest to you and all the relevant stories will come up for you to read. This story below has been submitted on behalf of the St. Thomas Gospel Hall in Ontario.

Fantasy of Lights
Each year during the month of December the local park is used to showcase light displays of local businesses and organizations called “The Fantasy of Lights”.  There is no cost in being a part of it, and it is an opportunity to share the gospel for a month.  The only thing that is requested of each group is to volunteer at the front gate where each car is greeted and donations are received to cover the costs of electricity and maintenance.

The St. Thomas Gospel Hall was excited to be a part of it this year.  Our theme verse was  1Timothy 1:15 and so to portray it we had a globe, a manger and a cross with the shadow of the cross reflected on the globe.

We were able to find an 8 foot beach ball on the internet.  With the talent of several of the believers we came up with a blue vinyl covering, and using a green tarp, cut out the land forms to make the globe.  In front of the globe, there was a cross and in front of that, a wooden manger.  Screwed to the back of the manger was a spot light that shone on the wooden cross creating a large shadow of a cross on the globe. 

To the left of the globe was a large banner with the theme verse, two globes portraying all of the landforms and a Bible.  Also written on the bottom of the banner was “Sponsored by the St. Thomas Gospel Hall” and our website stthomasgospelhall.com.  We decorated the posts holding the banner with garland, lights and bows.  We also outlined our assigned plot with a “fence” using garland and coloured lights.  It was exciting to see the different talents and gifts at work during the project. 

We had fun the two nights that we volunteered at the gate and supervised the park.  It was an opportunity to get some of the older Sunday school students involved with the volunteering.  It was a good feeling to be involved in a community activity and most of all knowing that Christ’s name was being lifted high for a whole month.

Calendars

With the help Jim Elliott of the Broadview assembly in Toronto we were able to make some attractive calendars to give out in the community and specifically to neighbours and areas where Sunday school children are picked up. 

 Jim Elliott printed:

•             Envelopes

•             Seals for the envelopes

•             Color photograph of a local scene

•             The calendar backing

•             The month pages

One of the believers took several pictures of local scenery and landmarks and then we chose two of them (for variety) to be printed and attached to our calendars.    Two Sunday afternoons the believers met for a couple of hours to assemble the calendars and the envelopes.  Each calendar had printed on it the name of the hall, the order of meetings, and a gospel verse on each month.

Christmas Baskets

In an effort to reach a group of people other than our Sunday school contacts we put together some Christmas baskets.  The idea was to provide the believers with a gift for their neighbours, co-workers, community service workers, or anyone else they wanted to reach with the gospel.

 

One sister found a greenhouse that was closing down, so got several baskets at a reduced price, and another sister made regular rounds to the second hand stores to pick up more baskets (the second hand ones were spray painted).  Good quality items were purchased to fill the baskets along with a calendar, Christmas bookmark, Christmas tract, notepad, and a pen with a verse.  The pads were printed by one of the Christians with a snowflake graphic including our website address.  In addition to the purchased items, a yummy white chocolate snack mix was made and bagged in Christmas cellophane bags. 

Another item included plastic spoons that were dipped in chocolate and crushed candy cane and bagged as well.  To make things more attractive little packets of hot chocolate, tea and popcorn were tied with curled ribbon.  Finally we filled the baskets, and wrapped them in cellophane with a bow and a gift tag.  We made around 80 of these baskets.  The believers took them according to their needs, and some took up to 10. 

The feedback was pretty exciting.  The shock on the faces of some of the community service workers was priceless as they received their unexpected gift.  These baskets opened the door for building relationships with neighbours as well.

Time to Plan for Your Christmas Opportunities

You've heard the old empty song about making a list and checking it twice..... Well, now is the time to dig out your list for Gospel opportunities during the month of December to make sure opportunities to share Christ are not missed.

I know there may be some Christians who would prefer not to place any emphasis on Christmas. But for those who see it as an opportunity, cherish it. This is probably the generation that will witness the shutting down of many opportunities to share Christ at Christmas time. For those who see it is as a converted pagan holiday, they may wish they had seized the opportunities during the month of December - when it was still legal to speak openly about Christ in public places.

As it stands now,  if you listen carefully, you can still hear excellent Christmas carols with doctrinally sound lyrics being played in some shopping malls and stores. Some public schools still allow a Christmas Concert to include the story of the birth of Christ. Christmas cards promoting 'Christ the Saviour' are still available. Most communities still allow neighbors to band together and go from door-to-door singing carols. Most municipal bylaws still allow a Christian home to have a lighted text in their yard saying: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," or "The Greatest Gift - God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son". We can still go to public housing complexes for seniors and low income families to sing Scripturally sound Christmas carols and to tell the old, old story.

But those days of opportunities may soon end in many parts of the Western world. But in 2010, there are still some things the most of us can do. Here are a few suggestions:

Singing Carols in the Neighborhood - Get some strong and happy singers together and practice singing 8-10 Scripturally sound carols. You don't need a huge repertoire of carols. You may have to sing the same carols repeatedly but those who are listening are not hearing the repetition. Bundle up in warm clothes, with some goodies and treats to hand out, carry a few lanterns or flashlights and knock on doors in the neighborhood - sing a carol on their doorstep, give them a treat and go to the next door. Drop into the nursing home or the hospital or the Boys and Girls Club, etc. sing a few carols filled with the Gospel message, smile and move along.

Christmas Dinner - Host a community Christmas Dinner. Send out invitations to all the neighbors. Put a sign outside your building over a week in advance announcing the Christmas Dinner. A full-blown turkey dinner with delicious dessert and one poinsettia per home. Take 15 minutes to speak about the Reason for the Birth of Christ and if you feel it is appropriate contrast Christ to Santa Claus.

Christmas Cards - If you still send out Christmas cards to old neighbors, work associates and family members, search online to find cards that have a clear message about how Christ really is the best news this world could ever hear.

Facebook, Twitter, etc. Be sure to promote Christ during the month of December. Post one line statements about the Birth of Christ the Saviour; post an appropriate verse; post a link to a good online Christmas story, etc.

Your Website - Check with some tract publishers online to see if you can copy and paste one of their tracts from their website so it can be displayed on your personal or assembly website. You don't need to re-invent the wheel or write a new tract. There are excellent Christmas tracts already available.

If you have other ideas or suggestions, please leave some comments below. Or if you would like to submit a report on some activity for the month of December, please send it to Reports.

Mother's Day and Other Days in St. Thomas, Ontario

Mother's Day is just around the corner. Are you planning to reach out to mothers and families that day with something special? Many are finding ways to share the Gospel with the community by using such events as a springboard. Other submissions will be posted over the next day or two but here is one from St. Thomas, Ontario submitted by Joan McCandless. She would be happy to respond by email to any questions you may have.

Mother's Day

In St. Thomas for many years we have honored Moms on Mother's Day. We invite them to come for refreshments, beginning a few minutes before the regular S.S. time. We have special speaker and then give each Mom with a small gift presented by one of her children.

The refreshments are usually cheese balls and crackers etc., fresh strawberries, cake and ice cream, as well as hot and cold beverages.

The gifts have ranged from small plants, stationary items, to soaps& lotions. Dollar stores are great for ideas.

Father's Day and Annual Sunday School Treat

Our S.S. treat is in June. This allows us to follow the school year and provides a good opportunity to break from classes for the summer and start the summer open class program. We have incorporated Father's Day in the activity of the day, in the past year or so. Dads have received a jar of homemade jam. It is the awards day for the children as well. We do this event at about 4:30 p.m. so it actually replaces our gospel mtg. for the day.

This again is preceded by a chicken dinner and the trimmings.

Easter

We also do an Easter Dinner, which follows a special speaker. This year we had 16 parents sitting listening.

Dinner is usually ham, scalloped potatoes, salads, corn, rolls and butter with cake and ice cream for dessert.

Christmas

At Christmas we again have a dinner following a special speaker. Each family receives a small poinsettia plant and has a family picture taken in the foyer of the hall.

This is a traditional turkey dinner with homemade desserts. Candy-canes at the door when leaving are a special treat.

Using the Foyer

The foyer of the hall has a very large bulletin board. Each month it is the responsibility of a different sister to design a new board, according to season or Bible related topic. Always there are verses and/ or Biblical themes. Any pictures of S.S. events from the previous month, birthdays for the present month and the class pictures are on there as well. The kids love to check and see the new items.

Willing to Share

One other item of note are S.S. treat themes. Through the years we have tried to have a theme, songs to accompany the theme,(even to learning many new ones) and a backdrop to accompany it. We have lots of stories and logged many hours in putting some of these together but it has always been a rewarding experience. In fact we have wondered how we could have a resource centre to share these ideas and even the backdrops themselves.

Hope some of this has been helpful. It seems we make the best inroads with children and parents and if the confidence is there by the parents, they are visitors at these events, many for as long as they have children attending. How we can reach them further is a question.

Contact: Joan McCandless

More on Mother's Day to follow.

Hamilton, Ontario - Multi-pronged Gospel Approach

Paul Glenney of the Nash Road Gospel Hall (Hamilton, Ontario) kindly submitted the post below. The Christians who once met at the Hamilton Road Gospel Hall moved to a newly renovated facility in November, 2009. The post below deals with the transition and the assembly's gospel efforts in the community.

Here is a brief chronology of events since moving into the new building. It is only ten minutes from the former Kensington Avenue Gospel Hall so we have been able to maintain some contacts from the area. The lady who lives beside the old hall is picked up each Sunday night for the Gospel Meeting, unless she is unable to attend. Some children are also picked up in the area.

In the months preceding our move we delivered, as well as mailed, to apartments in the area a Seed Sower John 3:16 text (5x7) and a card indicating that we were moving into their neighborhood. We moved November 13-14th and the following three Saturdays had a craft class focusing on Christmas crafts. Then on December 13th we had the Christmas dinner.

It is hard moving into a new area and trying to make contacts. It is slow but we are in it for the long run, in the will of the Lord. To the neighbors on each side of our building we took a gift basket with texts and literature in it. We thanked them for their patience and understanding with us during the months of construction with its noise and dirt. It is really just another way of trying to gain the confidence of the people. We delivered about 800 baskets along with an annual calendar which had all the Sunday School and Gospel meetings marked for each Sunday in addition to special events such as Mother’s Day luncheon, Sunday School picnic and the Christmas program for 2010. Again these are small steps.

We are not getting many folks in from the area yet but we keep working at it.

Regarding our Christmas Program, we have tried this for a few years and are very thankful we have.

We have a full Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings.

We try to time the Program (with the children saying verses or recitations relating to the coming into the world of the Saviour and his death at Calvary) for about 7PM. This is the time of our regular Sunday evening Gospel meeting so if some of the neighbors unknowingly come for the Gospel meeting, they will still get the Christmas Gospel message. The recitation of verses is followed by a speaker for the children and parents - again with the focus on the birth and death of the Saviour.

For this Christmas program, we get a large number of unsaved in which normally do not come to the meetings. It is fair to say conservatively we had in at least 40 unsaved adults that we normally would not get in. In all we estimate we had between 230 – 250. The Christians were encouraged by it and in the will of the Lord we plan on it again for 2010.

We hope in the spring/summer to have a community barbeque on our front lawn/parking lot again with tents with texts, cds, literature, etc. The purpose again is to make contacts in the area. We are getting some inquiries from the website as well. (See link for Hamilton, Ontario under Websites)

While we have not yet been able to connect fully with our new neighbors we are continuing with the expectation that we will.

Regarding the renovations to our new location, our project manager, Mike Da Silva, is a Christian. We have arranged a Sunday evening for Mike Da Silva and his son to speak in the Gospel. We are using this as an opportunity to invite all the trades and tradesmen, our real estate agent, etc. that worked on the building to the gospel meeting, tour the building to see the finished product and have a luncheon. Will they come? we don’t know but here again we are trying to use this to make some contacts for the Gospel’s sake.

We carry on a Spanish Gospel meeting once a month on a Saturday followed by dinner. We always have some unsaved in for which we are thankful.