Getting Ahead of the Christmas Game
by Felicity Carswell
November 28th, 2023
Living in America means that Thanksgiving has become a standout date in our calendar. It is the climax of November and, for us, is the starting whistle for Christmas. As the rest of the nation begins to look up from their turkey feasts, and glimpses Christmas in the wintry distance, we have spent the morning putting up the Christmas tree and festooning the house with outside lights before the snow arrives.
To be honest, I’ve always thought my husband was premature in his Christmas enthusiasm. The carols sometimes begin as early as September, and the tree is waiting in the wings for whenever I give any hint of being ready to welcome it into our living room.
But, I’ve been grateful this year for the Christmas hustle from within my own home because it has prompted us to think early about how to share the Christmas joy. We want to highlight Jesus to our unbelieving friends, and that takes intentional thought and action. All the better to get going on it before December!
Our friends might think we’re ahead of the game, but as we limber up and get ready for Christmas, we’re also preparing to invite them into the season. We want to open the door and allow them to see God himself stepping down into humanity. We want them to see beyond the festive decor, and glimpse the glory of Emmanuel as ‘the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us’.
My husband is quick to defend our swift embrace of all things Christmas by saying that we just love to celebrate the Incarnation. The wonder of the Lord of the universe being big enough to make himself small, and dwell among us. What better reason to get the tree up, switch the lights on and belt out those classic carols.
As we’ve been anticipating the start of the Christmas festivities, we have also been intentionally thinking and praying about how to share the glories of the incarnation, and the hope Christ brings, with those around us. Here are some of the ways in which we’re seeking to invite people into the action:
Prayer: we’ve been specifically praying for opportunities to build relationships and to invite our neighbours and friends into our lives over the Christmas period. This has meant not just praying now, but thinking and praying intentionally throughout the year as we build up to inviting them to come to church with us. If you’re reading this and kicking yourself, don’t worry, you can start today.
Relationships: we don’t want the Christmas invitation to be the first invitation that people receive, and so we have worked hard to spend time with these people before December. With some it has been a chat over the fence, with others a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon and with others a meal together. As we then invite them to a Christmas gospel event, it is coming from the point of friendship. Again, this is something we try and do throughout the year although increase the intentionality as we approach Christmas.
Bringing, not just inviting: our church is putting on a Christmas celebration service that is intended for unbelievers. We have flyers, and it would be easy give the flyer saying that we’d love them to come. I think that can work, but it can feel like a big deal for an unbeliever to walk into a church building alone without really knowing what to expect. We are, instead, having an ‘English’ gathering at our house beforehand (mince pies are an unknown entity here!) and suggesting that people come to ours before going on together to the Christmas celebration.
Year round: while we’d love to use the Christmas opportunity, it doesn’t end on 25th December. We long for our friends to come to the gospel event, but we know that their opportunity to hear of Christ isn’t limited to that day or time. We want to keep the relationship going, and are eager to share our lives and Jesus whenever possible. Maybe it’s inviting them over for a final slice of Christmas cake, maybe even seeing if they’d like to come to church on a normal Sunday, or maybe looking ahead to Easter and thinking intentionally as to what those opportunities might look like.
As I write this, it’s the weekend after Thanksgiving and so the whistle has already been blown. Plans have been made, invitations have been issued and we’re praying for the Lord to open our friends’ and neighbours’ eyes to the glories of the incarnation and the hope of Christmas this year. Game on!
About the Author
Felicity Carswell lives in Chicagoland, Illinois with her husband and two children. She loves people, sport & a good novel, alongside teaching the Bible to women in her local church. Felicity is co-host of the podcast Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea with her sister, Sarah, in which they chat through the Bible together over a very English cup of tea and biscuit.
