12 creative ways to share your faith this Christmas

As I travel across the UK visiting churches, I have noticed a couple of things. Firstly, there is an increasing vacuum of hope among those who do not yet know Jesus. Secondly, there is a growing confidence and desire in the Church to be good news people in a bad news world. 

The angel who appeared to the shepherds after Jesus’ birth announced: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10). And in an unstable world, Jesus still offers a hope that changes everything. This Christmas, here are twelve ways to make the most of the opportunity to invite others to hear the story of the saviour God who became a baby.

Invite your friends and neighbours to sing carols

Christmas is an all-round sensory experience. There is the feel of thick, woollen jumpers, the smells of pine and cinnamon, the taste of mince pies and the sight of 1,000 coloured lights. But there is something about the sound of jingling bells and Christmas music that stirs an inexplicable sentimentality in us. And, perhaps more than any of our hymns, Christian carols have survived the secular storms of our times, standing strong in many people’s cultural memories. As a result, millions of people will attend carol services – many of whom would never set foot in a church for the other eleven months of the year. And you are the best person to invite them. 

The Fusion movement recently found that 76 per cent of students would go to church if invited by a friend. This Christmas, pray and ask the Lord for the boldness to invite a friend or neighbour to hear songs of good news, comfort and joy.

Share quality content on social media

The latest research asking people how they became a Christian is beginning to show the impact of online content. UK adults spend more than two hours a day on average on social media and for many of us, our news feeds are populated by bad news stories, cat videos and trivialities. As Christians we have the opportunity to be good news people in this space where so many spend so much of their time. 

May we all devote ourselves to prayer this Advent season and patiently ask that “every heart prepare him room”

A pastor recently told me that he had more new people turn up to his church through TikTok in the last six months than through personal invitation. It is encouraging that non-Christians seem to be stumbling across Christian content that is provoking them to find out more. There are some great short videos that communicate a Christmas gospel message and my encouragement is to think about sharing these for your friends and connections to see.

‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’

This Easter I sensed God tell me to knock on the doors on our street, give our neighbours chocolate eggs and offer to pray for them. I confess I was reluctant. But my low expectations should have been higher. While there were some homes that received the gift and were hesitant in accepting prayer, others were remarkably open. One woman described herself as a ‘new pagan’ but said she had really struggled since moving to the area. After we prayed, her eyes were filled with tears. Another neighbour spoke of his bereavement, having recently lost his dad to cancer. The highlight was a home where a woman told us she had been spiritually searching. My wife and I both shared our stories and then her young adult son ‘confessed’ he had started reading the Bible with a friend. God is always working.

This Christmas, could you take a small gift to your neighbours, wish them a merry Christmas, explain you are a Christian and offer to pray and see what God does? Colossians 4:3 invites us to pray that “God may open a door for our message”. Will you knock on those doors to meet the people behind them?

Give a little Christmas reading

I have a mate called Jon. We’ve known each other for more than 30 years and I’ve been praying for him to come to know Jesus for most of these. When I get him a present, I will sometimes add a little Christian book, often on a subject we have been talking about recently. I’ve given him Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ (Zondervan) and Glen Scrivener’s The Air We Breathe (The Good Book Company). We know each other well enough for this not to be too awkward. Whether he becomes a Christian this Christmas, or it takes another 30 years, I hope the books will help him on the journey.

There is some great reading out there on the meaning of Christmas. Mark Greenwood has written a brilliant, humorous, illustrated booklet called Not Just for Christmas (Verité). We’ve given out Hope Together’s Christmas magazine in the past (purchase copies from 22p here). As you give, pray that these gifts would be picked up in-between the feast of movies, cheese boards and Quality Street.

Christmas cards start with Christ

There is little doubt that the price of postage and the ease of a ‘catch all’ Facebook status have contributed to the slow death of the Christmas card, but most houses still have a smattering on their mantlepiece. Quaint snow scenes and jolly Santa sleighs are OK. Unrealistic and sanitised nativity scenes are better. But we love to give cards with an appropriate, hopeful Bible verse to brighten up our friends’ lives and homes. Take a little longer over the message in the card as well and let your connections know how grateful you are for them.

Go all out with Christmas talks

If you go to Waterstones, you can expect to have a conversation with a member of staff about books. Likewise, Specsavers and glasses. And Aldi and whatever it is they are selling in the middle aisle that week. So, if people come to church, they should expect to hear the gospel.

If people come to church, they should expect to hear the gospel

As an evangelist, I cannot tell you what a joy it is to bring good news to people at Christmas. Each year, I get to speak in churches, workplaces and occasionally car parks (!) to people who have come for an annual visit, to sing ‘Little donkey’ and eat a mince pie by candlelight. The former Arsenal football manager Arsène Wenger reportedly said: “Christmas is important, but Easter is decisive.” My encouragement to all Christmas preachers is to point from cradle to cross, from Bethlehem to Calvary, from manger to resurrection. And if your church is running a carol service, why not encourage your pastor to speak with invited guests in mind? 

Think about the next step on the journey

According to Church of England statistics, Christmas attendance is almost three times higher than average weekly attendance. In my own church, our Christingle service on Christmas Eve is a much-loved event for the whole community. 

Growing up in the 1990s, there was an annual campaign to prevent puppies from being abandoned in January. It reminded families that dogs were “for life not just for Christmas”. A healthy conversation we have as a church each year is how we communicate the same message about Jesus to those who come for their annual, traditional festive check-in. We might only persuade a few to return in the new year, but running Alpha or other, similar courses can provide a natural next step for those in whom God is particularly moving.

One more seat at the table

From late November, advertisers prey on our desire for the ‘perfect’ Christmas, and the utopian image is stereotypically portrayed as one of the nuclear family around the tree or at the turkey-adorned table. For many, however, this is far from their reality. Last year, the World Health Organization declared loneliness to be a pressing global health threat. Against that backdrop, many will spend their Christmas alone. Into this epidemic of isolation, Psalm 68:6 speaks: “God sets the lonely in families.”

Growing up, my amazing parents were always on the lookout for those who might lack ‘kin’ with whom to spend a merry Christmas. We had a small house on a council estate, but they made it work. It had a profound impact on us children. 

A key word for our evangelism in this season is hospitality. The gospel comes with a seat at the table.

Meals on wheels

The debt charity StepChange found that one in three families with children struggled to afford Christmas in 2023. There is a cost-of-living crisis in the UK, and the Church continues to do an amazing job fulfilling the biblical mandate to be good news to the poor. For many who come to faith, an important point of contact was Christians meeting a material need and demonstrating that someone cares. Christmas provides one more opportunity to do just that.

In our own church, we have given bags of blessings to those we know are struggling. Other churches have provided hampers, often using excess donations from local businesses. For those you know personally, or those known to your church community, could you generously and sensitively provide a similar box of blessing with the essentials for a Christmas dinner? Even greater impact could be added with some suitable reading – see suggestion 4 above.

Make the connection

I recently preached a sermon series around the ‘bad habits of Jesus’. One of those was that Jesus was known for eating and drinking with sinners (Matthew 11:19). In this season of relational disconnection, one of my hopes for Christians is that we are known for throwing the best parties, where people can be and make the best of friends. Christmas is a great excuse for a party.

A key word for this season is hospitality. The gospel comes with a seat at the table

When it comes to evangelism, I love what Sam Chan advises: one of the best things you can do is introduce your not-yet Christian friends to your Christian friends. In doing so, you show them you aren’t the only one, which adds plausibility to your gospel story. Hosting a Christmas party is an easy excuse to make this happen. Pour the eggnog, bring out the nibbles and make the introductions.

Host a ‘frontline’ celebration

The London Institute of Contemporary Christianity’s language around frontlines is really helpful in thinking about where we are to be good news people. Whether it is our workplace, sports club or community group, we all have a space where God has called us to be salt and light. Annual festivals provide an opportunity for Christians to host celebrations that invite not-yet Christian colleagues, co-workers and teammates to hear the good news. In the last few years, I have been the guest speaker at events organised by leading UK businesses, law firms, public sector departments and football teams. Without overstepping, the gospel can be communicated winsomely and appropriately alongside the usual feast of music and refreshments. Could you organise something on your ‘frontline’ this year?

Add to your Advent prayers

Perhaps the most important point has been left until last. This is the proverbial ‘partridge in a prayer tree’ in the Twelve Ways of Christmas. Prayer and evangelism go hand in hand. All of the above must be saturated, surrounded and soaked in intercession. Advent is an apt framework for praying for our not-yet Christian friends, neighbours, colleagues and family. Evangelism is patient work. Jesus compares word ministry to sowing a seed and anticipating its growth. The weeks before Christmas are a time of waiting. May we all “devote [ourselves] to prayer” for the lost in this Advent season (Colossians 4:2), and patiently ask that “every heart prepare him room”.

This Christmas, may you know that you carry the same good news the angels announced on a Judean hillside 2,000 years ago. And, as you embody and enunciate it, may you know the same Emmanuel, God with you, every step of the way