7 Ways to Help Your Community this Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner!  This is always a wonderful time of year to strengthen valuable connections with your community.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Partner with Local Agencies.  I can never over-emphasize the value of partnering with local agencies and organizations.  If people in your community are already addressing your community’s needs, help them.  Consider partnering with them through providing volunteers and financial support.  Become acquainted with the services they’re providing and offer your assistance.
2. Assist with Local Schools.  Bring snacks and Christmas goodies for a local school’s teachers’ lounge.  Ask the principal if there are any upcoming events or projects they may need volunteers for.  This small gesture will speak volumes.
3. Provide Community for the Lonely.  Christmas isn’t a pleasant time for everyone.  Suicide rates statistically increase over the holiday season.  Schedule or partner with community events (e.g., dinners, movie nights, etc.) that will provide fellowship for those that are lonely.
4. Care for Widows.  It’s a primary mandate from the bible to take care of widows and orphans.  This Christmas, consider allotting a portion of your church’s outreach budget to encouraging local widows.  Simple things like providing a meal, sending roses, or sending a gift card can let a widow know she’s not forgotten.
5. Partner with Other Churches.  This may be one of the more difficult things on this list to accomplish.  Partnering with other local churches for compassion ministry, events, or fellowship conveys that you aren’t competing with them.  It also disarms those in your community that insist churches only exist to fight with each other.
6. Host a Christmas Eve Service.  This may sound basic, but a traditional Christmas Eve service can build trust with your community.  Advertise your Christmas Eve service to the community.  You’ll find that many unchurched people will attend out of nostalgia.  This provides you a golden opportunity to reconnect them to the body of Christ.
7. Gift Wrapping.  Provide a free gift wrapping service for your community.  Get members of your congregation to donate wrapping paper, bows, and ribbon.  Gather volunteers that will do a great job.  Find a local business that will allow you to provide this free service for their customers.  Many malls that do not have a competing wrapping service of their own are happy to allow a church to provide this free service for their customers.

 

Table It!

It takes a variety of personalities to make an effective organization move forward.  Each temperament has its own advantages and challenges.  One particularly challenging task for many leaders is knowing when to table an idea or initiative.

It’s easy to get emotionally attached to an idea.  Ideas make us vulnerable, because we never know how our ideas will be perceived.  There are also occasions where you genuinely have a great idea that needs to be placed on hold until the right time.

As leaders, we have to be skilled in knowing when to push a great idea through adversity and when to table it for a better time and more appropriate climate.  In evaluating when to table an idea for future consideration, it’s important to examine the amount of opposition the idea is receiving, how integral it is to your organization’s DNA, and (most importantly) the Spirit’s guidance in the issue.

Don’t be afraid to surrender an idea.  It shows great strength in leadership to remove your self esteem from the decision making process.  It will also earn you credibility for when you need to push essential ideas through.

Ways to Partner with Your Local Schools (8 of 13)

Visual Support

Partnering with your local school system can be basic.  There are many ways that you can use your church’s influence to show support of a local school.  Be creative and come up with some solutions that work best within your community. 

Here are some ideas:

• Congratulate the school for an achievement on your church’s sign and/or bulletin
• Purchase an ad in your local paper honoring the school on a special occasion
• Offer the services of your church’s graphic designers to design t-shirts, flyers, or other needed items.