Journals @ Awaken This HeartThe musings of Pastor Corey Gibson on leadership, ministry and life.

Christmas Break, Does Not Mean a Break From Ministry

Many years back I met with my executive pastor who challenged me to grow the student ministry during the Christmas break. At first I pushed back saying that, “we shut down during Christmas season because most teens are off doing family things.” He then looked back at me and asked,”most teens?” Then I realized that this challenge is definitely one I can take on.

Typically, there is truth that many teens head on vacation, are booked up with family stuff but despite all these possible distractions some teens sit at home thirsty for community. Here are a couple of ideas that are low preparation and high impact that your team can do to continue ministry during the busy Christmas season.

• Meet Us – I always get coffee, run to the mall or do some sort of activity around town. With social media, we are able to invite teens to where we are at and at what time. Meet us is an opportunity to build relationships with teens in a casual yet public forum.  
• Leftover Lunch – Leftovers after a huge Christmas meal is a reality. There is no better way to get teens to show than with food; hosting a leftover lunch encourages teens to bring a leftover, share it with the group and enjoy each other’s company.
• Gift Swap – We all get that one gift for Christmas that reeks of re-gift. A gift swap can be a fun event to drive teen to come together and have a fun with a post-Christmas gift exchange.
• Movie – Everyone has a taste in what movie they want to watch, but I have learned that movie events are less about the movie and more about coming together. Encourage your volunteers to host movie events or meet at the theater for an appropriate movie. 
• Bowling – It is old school, but bowling is an incredible opportunity to do something while connecting with students in a meaningful way.

I know there are many more ideas out there. The focus of the Christmas break is not to create huge events but instead create simple events that enable for connections to develop. You will also notice that these simple opportunities tend to invite those not attending your student ministry. Building relationships with those new teens enabled my student ministry to grow; thus accomplishing the challenged from my executive pastor. What are other events that are low preparation, yet high impact that your ministry team can do this Christmas break?

Trevor Lee currently serves as the Family Life Pastor at Life Community Church, a restarted church located east of Seattle. In total Trevor has spent nearly a decade serving children, students and families in a variety of church environments around the Pacific Northwest. 

Blog // www.TrevorLee.me
Twitter // @trevormclee

Christmas, Christmas Break, God, Jesus

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