Share The Gospel At Christmas: It’s The Perfect Time!

What comes to mind when you think about the Christmas season? Do you think about Christmas carols, snow, lights, ornaments, treats, and Santa? (Please rethink Santa.) I hope, as a Christian, you are also thinking about Jesus Christ while decorating the tree and eating some sugar cookies. After all, as Christian Christmas décor often says, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Nonetheless, we might be inadvertently neglecting the gospel while we immerse ourselves in holiday festivities. And that’s a real shame because it is so easy to share the gospel at Christmas.

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year…To Share The Gospel

For some of us, Easter is the more obvious time to share the gospel. Resurrection Sunday is the culmination of God’s salvation plan for us, and it’s a beautiful story to tell others. However, Americans aren’t nearly as interested in Easter as they are in Christmas. Plus, the Christmas season spans a significantly longer amount of time. Some of y’all are putting trees up on November 1 and acting as if Thanksgiving isn’t even a thing. That’s fine and all. You’re just wrong.

So, other than the long period of time we have to share the gospel within the context of Christmas, why else is it a good plan to share the gospel at Christmas?

1. Kindness Abounds

People seem so much nicer at Christmastime, don’t they? Sure, there are Scrooges everywhere, but there is something special in the air. Christmas has an intangible quality in most communities. You can’t see it, but things feel different. We feel different. Someone who would usually shut you down might even let you speak just to be nice. Don’t waste that opportunity!

Additionally, many people appear to be more apt to accept kindness. Pride is a funny thing. It can stand in the way of someone being blessed by another’s love and kindness because she won’t accept a handout or charity. Independent women can take it a bit too far, and then they miss out. The same women, though, are often more than happy to accept your kind gestures around Christmas because it’s the season for it. Sounds silly to you? Yeah, me too. But who cares what we think? Just take the opportunities as they come.

2. Christmas Is Nostalgia Fuel

Nostalgia is all the rage right now. Movies, shows, toys, foods, and music from the 1990’s are being heavily marketed. Meanwhile, Disney is on a mission to poorly remake every great movie they’ve released in the past. Why? This all brings in big money because we love being nostalgic and reminiscing about the good ol’ days. And what ol’ days were “gooder” than those Christmases as a child?

As folks relive their memories and remember easier days as children, you, my Christian friend, have a much warmer door. They can share about their love for Christmastime, and you will have an opportunity to share the gospel through Christmas nostalgia. Diabolical, huh? Well, no.

Sharing the gospel at Christmas, even when it is planned, does not make for a diabolical plan. There’s nothing wrong with being prepared to speak about your Christian Christmas memories. Grandma’s house may be why your co-worker loved Christmas as a child, and it’s completely legitimate to tell her that you loved when your grandmother read you the story of Christ’s birth in Matthew and Luke.

3. Christmas Makes Us Feel Lonely

Not everyone has beautiful Christmas memories, making the holidays feel painful. Others had wonderful Christmases, but they are alone now or are grieving as they anticipate that empty seat at the table this year. Let’s face it. Christmas can be very difficult for a lot of people.

These raw emotions make some people more open to talk about spiritual things, and we should be ready to engage. Please, don’t take this as advice to feign interest in others to accomplish your agenda. We should care when we see others hurting, and we should only interact with them concerning their hurt if we are genuinely interested. Witnessing is not a transactional experience in which we dump information and await a response. Be relational and authentically demonstrate God’s love. It is loving to share the gospel, but let’s do so with an understanding of the context in which it all takes place. Let’s do it because we love the Lord and those around us.

4. Christian Stuff Is Normalized At Christmas

There’s a lot less tolerance for Christianity than there used to be. Maybe people will put up with progressive Christianity because it agrees with modern culture much more than biblical Christianity. On the other hand, reject Critical Race Theory (CRT), feminism, the LGBTQ+ agenda, or the legitimacy of transgenderism, and you are an enemy of the state.

Thankfully, at Christmas, we can decorate with nativity scenes, quote the Bible, and talk about Jesus without too much of a hassle because even atheists understand Christmas has a relationship with Christianity. We get a pass to share the gospel at Christmas more than any other time of year, so we need to speak up while we can.

How To Share The Gospel At Christmas

There is no perfect way to share the gospel at Christmas, but I do believe there are unique opportunities around the holidays that we shouldn’t miss out on. Below I have listed ten possible ways to tell others about Jesus this Christmas. Allow me to challenge you to try at least one of these ideas this year.

1. Random Acts Of Kindness

We can perform random acts of kindness any time of year, but Christmas gives us seasonal opportunities and an easy segue into sharing Christ. For instance, you could bring dinner to a single mom, shovel someone’s driveway, give an elderly widower a ride to the doctor, or bring a meal to a family you know is struggling. It’s one thing to say you care about people, but it is quite another thing to show it through your actions.

2. Casually Share Your Christmas Plans

As Christmas Day gets closer, it is only natural to ask about others’ plans for the holiday. This, of course, gives you a chance to tell your friend, acquaintance, co-worker, etc. about your plans.

Don’t forget to include the “why” when you explain what you’ll be doing. Don’t say, “I’m going to church.” Instead say, “I’m going to church for a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. We sing Christmas songs, read about Jesus’ birth from the Bible, and we think about why Jesus came as a baby.”

You’ve not overshared, but you have given enough information for the conversation to continue if the other person is interested.

3. Invite Others To Church

According to research through the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, 80% of people who come to Christ were invited to church by somebody they knew. Why not invite someone during the Christmas season? People who never go to church will still go to an occasional Christmas service. So, strike while the halls are decked with boughs of holly.

4. Go Caroling

Caroling is a fun way to share the gospel at Christmas. Anyone can do it, and I haven’t met very many people who don’t enjoy singing Christmas carols… especially with friends.

Music reaches us in a way spoken words can’t. Allow Christmas carols to be the means by which you tell others about Jesus Christ.  

Some members from my church have made plans to sing Christmas carols at a mall this year during a holiday shopping event. While singing, we will hand out tracts with candy canes, as well. (I think this is where some of our cute children will shine!) I predict that most people will accept the tracts with candy and at least a few people will stop to listen.

I don’t expect to change my community because we went Christmas caroling, but I am praying that someone will learn more about Jesus and the gospel before the day is through.

5. Invite Someone To Your Christmas Festivities

Not everyone has Christmas plans or even somewhere they could spend Christmas if they wanted to. They’re alone.

Christmas is a time for family, but can’t it also be a time to reach out to others? This could be the year you invite an unchurched person for Christmas dinner or ask an unbeliever to join your family at a Christmas event. It could be awkward. (OK, it will be awkward.) But if the Lord puts someone on your heart this year, reach out. Let it be awkward so you can display compassion and love. Let it be awkward so someone else can see Christ in you.

6. Donate Or “Adopt” A Family

This time of year offers many different ways to give. I was just at a shoe store that had a small Christmas tree with ornaments shaped like hats and shoes. Customers can bring one of those ornaments to the register and buy a hat or shoes for someone in need. Sometimes trees like this have entire families you can “adopt.” 

I “adopted” a family when I was in graduate school for Christmas, and I still think about them today. We never met but sending them Christmas gifts had a profound effect on me. I only wish I had been a Christian then because I would have sent along tracts and a Bible.

Do you have opportunities like these in your community? Can you bless someone’s Christmas this year by meeting a need and finding a way to share the gospel with them?

7. Get Out Of Your House

It’s a lot harder to share the gospel at Christmas (or ever) if you never leave the comfort of your home. Attend some Christmassy things and strike up a conversation.

It isn’t lost on me that this advice is coming from someone who hides from people she recognizes in the grocery store because she thinks she’ll be too awkward. (Just imagine how awkward it is when they find me crouched next to the Goldfish crackers in aisle 8.) But I’m not wrong about this! People are chatty around Christmas, and the kind of people who attend Christmas parades, tree lightings, light displays, and community shopping events are the same people who talk to strangers. I don’t understand them, but I know where they are…

So, grab that free hot chocolate and start a conversation with the family you’re standing next to at the Christmas parade. If you’re not sure how to have a conversation with a stranger, though, we’ll need to ask my husband. That’s more his thing than mine.

8. Christmas Cards/Letters

I am a failure here. We used to send Christmas cards, but we (see: me) stopped. It was costly, felt like a chore, and I have contact with the people I would send them to, anyway. However, people love getting cards. Honestly, who doesn’t love mail that isn’t a bill? A card or a Christmas letter can allow you to share the gospel with those you care about most.

The best part is that sending a letter about Jesus at Christmas is completely normal. If you try this in August, you’ll probably look like a zealot to the unbelievers in your life. At Christmas, you’re just a religious Christmas enthusiast.

9. Throw A Christmas Party Or Open House

My husband insists on this every year. We (see: me again) make snacks, cider, coffee, punch, and desserts for guests while hosting an open house. It’s an easygoing way to spend time with people and talk. Don’t misunderstand me with this. DO NOT corner your unsaved neighbor and bludgeon him with Bible verses. As my husband would say, you need to use “finesse.”

A party with a Christmas theme is an easy way to pair gospel conversations with a friendly and unthreatening environment. Plus, there’s food. Food always helps. Am I right?

10. Be Neighborly (Bring Over Some Snacks)

I’m not the first one on the block to reach out to neighbors because I’m often busy with homemaking and homeschooling. But I know the easiest way to get to know the neighbors in just about any community. Bring them some treats.

We were at our parsonage for about a week or so when one of our neighbors came over with a welcome basket. It was a sweet and simple gesture that I appreciated very much. If you want to thaw out a neighbor for a spiritual conversation in the future, then bring them something sweet to eat. And again, Christmas is a perfect opportunity. I’m convinced there is a Christmas treat out there for everyone.

The gesture may seem small, but it makes a big impression and opens the door to a friendship and meaningful conversations down the road.

Final Thought

Christmas is busy. We fill our days with cooking, baking, gatherings, shopping, decorating, seeing Christmas lights… Let’s not neglect our mission, Christians. The world is open to Jesus during this season in a way they won’t be again until next year. Do all the fun things you have planned, but try to look for those windows of opportunity to tell others about Christ. Share the gospel at Christmas, believers. It’s the perfect time!

Time for feedback. What else can we do to share the gospel at Christmas?

Image courtesy of Tessa Rampersad via Unsplash.