It's a Wonderful Life

Our family starts the new year watching It's a Wonderful Life. What a great movie to remind us that our life is not our own. We should be seeking after God's will for our lives. George Bailey was given a special gift - to see the difference his life made to others. We don't get to see most of the ways that we positively influence others. So, we have to trust that God's plans are the best plans for us.

You may get to heaven and find out that:

• the neighbor kid you invited to church, decided to try church again in college.
• the child you taught in VBS, brought her parents to church.
• the person you listened to and encouraged didn't commit suicide.
• the Christian ministry worker you thanked decided to stay working for the ministry.
• the person you gave a Christian tract to, read the tract and accepted God's gift of salvation.
• the Christian high school student you motivated, decided to go to Bible college to study ministry work.
  
• the poor family you shared your food with, shared food with another family later on.
• your good example made a child want to serve God.
• a couple decided not to divorce, because of the example of your marriage.
  

We can't possible imagine all of the ways God has been using us. This year, I am going to try to ask God everyday - "Lord, what do You want me to do today? Please show me."

He uses us where we are at. We don't have to wait until we've been a Christian for 5 years, gone to Bible school, read through the entire Bible, or read Christian books. Even children can be used by Him daily. We just have to be submissive to Him and His will for us, and obedient when He shows us what to do. Plus, we need to keep growing spiritually. I encourage you to start the new year asking Him - What do you want me to do today?

Halloween Evangelism

If it is too late to order tracts, then you can print out the Are You a Good Person? comic tract for free on your own home printer. I have printed them in just black and white and have given them away.

Also, you can make up your own cards (business card size) with the website www.smartyface.com and give them to trick-or-treaters.

Don't miss out on easy ways to evangelize this Halloween:

• Get tracts from a Christian book store and distribute them with candy to trick-or-treaters. (You may still be able to order online, if you pay more to have them sent fast.) Creepy Cash Tracts, Christianbook.com Tracts
  

• Pass out tracts and candy in public places. (You can even offer free face painting.)
  

• Tell the neighbor kids about the local church harvest party or carnival on October 31st. (For many churches, this is one of the biggest evangelistic outreaches of the year. They just need others to help get the kids to come.)

• Invite kids over for a Harvest/Halloween party on Saturday. Have a pumpkin object lesson, play harvest games, make a scarecrow tract craft, and serve scarecrow cupcakes.

• Deliver pumpkin pies and tracts to neighbors.

• Decorate your yard and front porch with a heaven/hell theme and make an evangelistic poster for your front door.

• Email: Tell kids about these online Halloween comics for Kids - The Little Ghost and Happy Halloween
  

• Email: Death Beth knows if you're going to die. (for teens and adults) You can also print and pass out business sized cards advertising the Death Beth site.

Being Nice Isn't Enough

I live in a predominately Roman Catholic town. There are just a handful of protestant Christians here. We're probably the only Wesleyan Christian family in town. The rest are, or claim to be, Roman Catholic. And what a nice town of non-protestant Christians it is.

The people here are so nice. The mail lady drops off hand me downs from her grand kids. Neighbors share fresh vegetables from their gardens. The next door neighbors take me to the grocery store when my husband is out of town. Someone even came by last winter and plowed my driveway when my husband was working in another state. My list goes on, but you get the idea.

Despite their niceness, I'm not interested in converting to Catholicism. Many of us Protestant Christians are nice in hopes that it will get people interested in Jesus. Being nice is wonderful and I definitely think that every Christian should be doing it. But being nice isn't enough to call it evangelism. People of other religions and even some atheists I know are as nice as can be.

We need to get the gospel truth out to people, if we're going to do our part to save them from hell. Oh, I wish that I had the boldness of my girls. The little neighbor boy asked my daughters about why we celebrate Christmas. That opened the door for them. They told him all about Christmas and how to become a Christian.

So, we can pray and ask God for those conversation starters. We can invite non-Christians to the many church events that are planned just for evangelistic outreach. We can also be bold and ask people if they think they are good enough to get into heaven. I took a Way of the Master evangelism class at church. It taught me that no one is good enough for heaven and that's why Jesus had to die on the cross - to pay the price for our sins.

Evangelism is an important part of the Christian walk. Many of us need to take it more seriously. We can't just leave it all up to the missionaries. We need to get busy praying and thinking about how we can witness for Jesus.

Evangelism at Halloween

You can pass these out in October. They look like money, but they have a gospel message on the back.

Here are some ways to pass them out: at Fall parades and events, in zipper lock baggies with candy, at Harvest parties, to trick-or-treaters, and to friends, relatives, & neighbors.

You get 100 Creepy Cash tracts for $4.00 from CustomTractSource.com


This is what it says on the back of the gospel tract:

Are you ready to be scared? It’s funny how at Halloween we delight in being frightened. Many people think it’s fun to be “scared to death”! But death itself is a very scary thought. What do you think will happen after you die? The Bible says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Take this quick test to see how you’ll do on Judgment Day…Ever lied? Ever stolen? Ever used God’s name in vain? Ever looked with lust? (God considers lust the same as adultery.) If you’re guilty of these, you’ve broken God’s moral Law, the Ten Commandments. God sees you as a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, and an adulterer at heart. The punishment for breaking His Law is death, and eternity in hell.

Can you see your danger? What will you say in your defense? The good news is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took your punishment for you. He died on the cross to pay your penalty, then rose from the dead. The Bible says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” You broke God’s law and Jesus paid your fine. So what must you do? The Bible commands you to repent (turn from sin) and place your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you. Your good works will not help you on Judgment Day. Confess and turn from your sins today—you may not have tomorrow! Then read the Bible daily and obey what you read. Please visit www.TheGoodPersonTest.net

Everybody Has a Seed to Sow

Then Sings My Soul Saturday Meme

What would happen if we all witnessed - to the people in our own little area of the world? Many of us want to leave the evangelizing up to the "Called" or to the missionaries. But, I don't think that is what Jesus intended for us to do. He said: "And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Michael W. Smith & African Children's Choir



What can you do?

• Deliver Church Event Fliers or Holiday Gift Bags to Your Neighbors?
  
• Help Christian Orphan Ministries?
  
• Witness through the Internet?
  
• Minister to the Neighbor Kids?
  
• Pass Out Tracts?
• Start a Bible Study at Work or Home?
• Start a Play Group at a Church to attract neighborhood women?
• Volunteer to Help at Church Evangelistic Events?
  

You can search through hundreds of ideas and find one that fits with your personality at Easy to Evangelize.com

Leave a Comment

Thank You to Those Who Witness for Jesus

Thankful Thursday Meme

On this day before Good Friday, I'm thankful for Jesus who died on the cross to pay the price for my sins. In three days, we will celebrate His resurrection.

Jesus is alive and He has made it possible for us to receive his free gift of salvation. You don't have to earn it or beg for it. Just admit that you are a sinner. Ask Him to forgive you. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.Tell Him that you want to receive His salvation and make Him the Lord of Your life. From there, the Holy Spirit can help you grow as a Christian - through reading the Bible and attending a church that teaches from the Bible.

I'm also thankful for Christians who witness for Jesus - those who ache with the thought of non-believers going to Hell.

Thank you - to those who witness using your artistic talents.

Sand Sculpture made by Randy Hofman

Thank you - to those who sing of the love of Jesus in front of hundreds, thousands, or millions of people.

Mandisa was the ninth-place finalist in the 5th season of American Idol.

Thank you - to those who write about Jesus on your blogs, unashamed to write about the Truth.

Thank you - to all those women who witness in your own special way, in the way that God has given you the ability to do so.


If you'd like to find a way to witness for Jesus, you'll find ideas at the Easy to Evangelize site.

Your Comments About Easter Evangelism

I was so thrilled to get 21 comments about the Easter Evangelism Ideas post. Many of you wrote to say what events and activities your church has planned for this year.

Some of you are:

• having an evangelistic dinner and film.
• having an Easter Outreach on Saturday and then inviting people to church for Easter Sunday.
• hanging flyers on doors to invite neighbors to church for Easter.
• sharing Easter evangelism ideas with your evangelism class at church.
• inviting the whole community to a huge Easter egg hunt at your church.
• having your first annual Easter egg hunt.
• writing about the Resurrection and Salvation on your blog.
• inviting non-Christian families to your church and showing the Jesus film.
  

I'm committing myself to pray for each one of these outreaches - that God will draw people to your church events, that people will be open to the message of salvation, that they will want to know and receive Jesus.

I like Margaret's comment - "Those are some really good ideas. But they're useless if we don't put them to practice."

This Easter, please ask God what you can do for Him. Salvation is a very serious subject. It's a life or death decision.

(If anyone else would like to tell me what they are doing for Easter, please leave a comment and I will add your outreach idea to this post.)

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Easter Evangelism Ideas

Thursday Thirteen Meme

Easter is about Jesus’ resurrection and salvation. It’s a great time for Christians to participate in evangelism, witnessing, and community outreach.

Here are 13 Ideas for Evangelizing at Easter:

Easter Cards
Send out Easter Cards and Gospel Tracts to those on your Christmas card list.

Take Neighbor Kid to a Church Easter Event
Churches put on free Easter plays, Music Concerts, and Egg Hunts during this time of the year. It’s a good opportunity to invite a neighbor friend along.

Egg-vitations
The Sunday before Easter, give the children at church some plastic eggs filled with candy and an invitation to attend church on Easter. They can pass out the egg-vitations to their non-Christian friends and the neighbor kids.

Easter Conversations
Ask people what they will be doing for Easter. It’s a way to get a conversation going that may lead to talking about Christ. If they return the question, you will be able to explain what Easter means to you. You can even invite them to your Easter service.

Easter Bunny Dress Up
Dress up as the Easter Bunny. Go door-to-door passing out flyers that invite families to your Church Easter Egg hunt, concert, Easter service, or Spring Carnival.

Support Easter Outreaches with Your Money
There are a lot of Christian organizations trying to raise money for their outreach projects. Your financial contribution can help them reach more people this Easter or through out the whole year. Your church may be putting on a service or egg hunt that needs more funding. Here’s Life Inner City gives out Easter goodie bags filled Christian items. It is a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Promote Easter Evangelism
Make a flyer listing Easter Evangelism Ideas. Pass it out to your Christian friends and family. Try to get it included in the church bulletin.

Spring Flowers
Your church can deliver potted Spring flowers, Easter cards, and invitations to the neighbors that live near your church.

Ham Giveaway
Deliver frozen hams to families in lower income neighborhoods, compliments of your church.

Business Outreach
Visit the businesses around your church. Surprise the employees with a basket of cookies and Easter candy. You can say - “Happy Easter from your neighbors at ____ church. Include invitations in the basket.

Put up Posters
Campus Crusade for Christ has 2 Free Easter Posters. Print them and put them up in public places or on your bulletin board at work.

Pie Giveaway
Bake pies and give them away to your neighbors, along with an Easter Tract and an invitation to your church Easter service.

Link to the Big List
You can encourage other Christians to evangelize at Easter by linking to the post that has 61 ideas for Easter Evangelism.

Leave Your Comment

Compassion International Blogging Month

YouTube Video: Mercy Me Talking About the Children That They Sponsor through Compassion

It's Blogging Month at Compassion International. Many bloggers are writing about their sponsored children and their experiences with Compassion.

You can read about:

• Boo Mama and Her Sponsored Girl - Sharon
• Rocks in My Dryer and Her Sponsored Boy - Dissan
• Anne and Her Sponsored Girl

Congratulations to my bloggy friend Fran who signed up to sponsor Sophia in Uganda.

Sponsoring a Child costs only $32 a month. This is what will be provided to the child:

• a church based program that will teach about Jesus
• educational opportunities
• health care and supplemental nutrition
• opportunities to learn about life skills
• safe recreation

You will be able to share letters, photos, and prayer request with the child.
You will be making an eternal difference in the life of your sponsored child.

Do you have an experience with child sponsorship that you'd like to share? Are you thinking about sponsoring a child? Please feel free to share your story by leaving a comment.

Are You Preparing for Eternity?

Life doesn't end here on earth. We have something bigger that we are working towards - eternity in heaven. Even if we complete all of our earthly goals, we will not feel accomplished and satisfied unless we are working for God's Kingdom.

What are you doing to prepare yourself and others for eternity? (evangelizing, teaching, praying, encouraging, supporting, counseling, growing, helping, ministry work, using your talent or skill). Your answers can motivate and encourage your Christian sisters.

I'd really like to Get Your Answers (with some details).

If you'd like to read more about Eternity, I wrote a post called What Is Eternal Life?

(Fish image from ChristArt.com)

Free Missions Book

Gospel for Asia offers a free book through their website. I got it and found it very interesting.

The book tells about the history and the current work of Gospel for Asia. It explains how they: train local people to become missionaries, support a missionary for only $1400 a year, are currently supporting 16,000 missionaries, and have planted 29,000 churches and mission stations.

You can request this book at Gospel for Asia and they will send it to you free.

Help Fund the Great Commission

I've listened to Money Matters on the Christian radio station for about 7 years. People call in daily to get their financial questions answered.

Money Matters teaches:

• Biblical financial principles
• how to get out of debt
• how to help fund the Great Commission.

When you have no more debt and interest to pay, God can show you how to help fund His Work.

The Money Matters Radio Show is also online.

Their website, Crown Financial Ministries, is filled with - helpful financial articles, budgeting and saving calculators, and free financial tools.

Scripture References about budgeting, saving, investing, debt, giving, greed, and riches.

(Fish image is from ChristArt.com)

A Million Dollars

What would you do if you had a million dollars - to give to God's work? Would you start a ministry? Would you give some to missionaries, your church, Christian organizations?

Yes. You would pray about it before actually giving the money away. I'd like to know what types of ministries are dear to your heart. Which ones would you be interested in supporting? (but pray about first)

Well, I'd really like to get your answers and add them to this post. You can include links, too.


God's Girl said: I would really pray before making specific donations but off the top of my head, I would sponsor missionaries, make a donation to an organization that translates and distributes the Bible worldwide, start a women's ministry that has been on my heart for years, donate money to a local women's ministry that I believe in, donate to my church's building project....for a start! hehehe

Debbie said: Wow! That is a thought provoking question. I agree with the others-you would need to spend a great deal of time in prayer first! I really know so many missionaries and mission projects around the globe that it would be easy to spend a million dollars. I think I would have to donate a hefty sum to Piedmont Baptist College. They do a great job of training Christian leaders. I would also pray about giving funds to the Baptist Mid-Missions camp outside Lima, Peru. It has never been funded enough. After that I would give a massive sum to national pastors and missionaries. Your dollar goes a long way with these dear servants. I know dozens here in Peru that live off so little.

I don't suppose I will ever have the chance to distribute a million dollars for the Lord's work. But, if anyone wants me to try, just let me know! Sounds like a blessed job to me.

Joyce said: Personally....I would probably "break up the money" and distribute it to various missionaries and missions organizations that need it badly. I wouldn't probably give it to so many of the "well known" or big agencies, but maybe a few that I trust. My heart goes out to the people/missionaries who are doing the work but haven't much $$$ support. Right before I read your comment on my blog...I had just wrote a check out to a little "Girls" home in Mexico that my friends are involved in. Because they haven't any heat and it's gotten cold there and their heaters were dangerous. Not working, expelling toxic gases, etc...so...several of us have all pitched in to help buy them a new furnace...because they couldn't afford it. That's the kind of things I want to help out with.....and of course other things as well. Orphans, AIDS, clean water, child prostitution, and human trafficking is a huge issue I am dealing with in my heart. I can't stand it. Those last ones put me over the edge. Child prostitution and Human Trafficking. We have some friends that are now working in that realm too.....so I would pour money to that cause big time. I don't think I would start a new missions situation only because there are so many working ones out there. I would check them out though and make sure they are reputable before I gave to them. I've seen and known of financial abuse even in missions areas...and I don't go for people living high off of missions funds.

Christina said: I would pray, pray and pray some more. A million dollars is not chump change. I pray before I spend my last twenty so I would surely pray. Where the Lord led me I would follow.

Shari said: I would - support some Gospel for Asia Missionaries (only takes $1800 a year to fully support one), support the projects of Operation Blessing (helping low income families worldwide and orphans), finish my college education (so I will be better educated to work for God), send each of my kids on a short term mission trip, contribute to my church's various fund raising projects, adopt or help other Christians adopt, and help my husband start the Christian camp that he has been dreaming about for 20 years.

Just Jen said: If have a million dollars just to spend on God's work, He would have it spent before He gave it to me. God gives His grace in measure. :D I would think He would do the same with the money....just as he did with the fish and bread....

Karan said: I'd start with first, researching people or families and organizations who were in need of help and decide on who I would give some of the wealth to.

One activity my husband and I already do is, if we have read a thoroughly inspirational book that helps us to grow and think in our own lives, we recommend it to others by purchasing many copies and mailing them to friends and family to read.

I'd probably add more names to our missionary list to help support their work for the Lord. At 65 I'm too old and too tired to go to a foreign field, but I'd like to help send others to forward the name of Jesus.

I'd also like to help serious Bible College students to get through college. When I was a young woman in Bible College, my dream was to have a youth ranch for troubled youth. I most likely would consider making this dream a reality even now, by financing something similar to this.

There are so many small ways to help those in need, if you choose to give away little by little and you can include your children, grandchildren or students by teaching them how to give. Some examples I'd choose would be food, medicines, seeds, rice and shoes. You can organize a shoe drive for orphans or needy kids. I took my grandsons to a shoe dept. and we picked out shoes to send to the orphans - it was fun. I've even seen needy people or disabled people shopping and not have enough money to buy a pair of shoes or some needed item. What a look of surprise and joy on their face when I told them I'd like to buy the shoes for them. Actually, I think my own heart was more elated. There are so many ways we can be an example to our children and younger generations regarding giving. And we can always give to hunger in America. I'd like to gradually give out my wealth and not do it all at once. Spread the blessings over time!

This is an acceptable start on what I would do with a million dollars. It would go quickly, and I would need to make a good advantageous plan before I started. I would also encourage my grandchildren to join in learning how to give to others in need.

Help Rescue Them

Today, I received an email from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries.

Ron said: "My prayer for 2008 is that you won’t just make a casual "new year’s resolution" of some kind. My prayer is that rescue will become a burning passion of your heart - that every day you will look for, and seek out opportunities to share the hope you have in Jesus."

There are so many ways to participate in evangelism. You can: let your Christian light shine to your neighbors, witness through Christian community projects, support existing evangelism and ministry projects, help attract non-Christians to your church.

It is important to tell people that they need a Savior, because one day they will face God’s judgment for their sins. If they aren't going to heaven, they are going to hell. That is the awful reality.

There are hundreds of witnessing ideas for individuals, families, and churches at the Easy to Evangelize site.

(The clip art is from ChristArt.com)

Christmas Evangelism Idea

Christmas is a great time to tell others about Jesus. It’s become a tradition for my family to do an evangelism project at Christmas.

This year, my girls helped me make small stocking ornaments out of craft foam. Then, we folded Santa Money Tracts and slid them into the stockings. When it gets closer to Christmas, we are going to hang them on doorknobs in our neighborhood.

There are many Christmas Ideas you may be interested in at

Easy to Evangelize

How to Help Orphans

There are 143 million orphans, and so much can be done to help them. What a great way to witness and show the love of Jesus – Help the Orphans.

God's Kids

Get lots of Ideas at HowToHelpOrphans.com

Here are some of the ways to help:

• Donate gifts
• Have a baby shower
• Sponsor an orphan
• Form an orphan prayer group
• Shop online gift catalogs for orphans
• Go on a trip to an orphanage
• Raise money
• Make Care Packs
• Help a foster family
• Hold a shoe drive
• Mentor foster youth
• Volunteer at a Christian organization
• Promote orphan care websites
• Participate in adoption Sunday
• Start an orphan ministry at church
  

Evangelism Ideas for Christmas

You can share the real meaning of Christmas with others. Find your way to promote Christian evangelism and community outreach this holiday season.

Take Neighbor Kid to a Church Concert
Churches put on free Nativity plays, Music Concerts, and Christmas parties during this time of the year. It’s a good opportunity to invite a neighbor friend along, especially if there will be free cookies and hot cocoa.

Merry Christmas Military
Send Christian Christmas Cards to soldiers. You’ll need to send the cards early. It takes awhile for the soldiers to receive their mail.
For just $3.25 you can have a Rapid Deployment Kit delivered to a soldier. This is an evangelistic ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ Ministry #2286536 The kit includes: a camouflaged New Testament, a 90-day “Our Daily Bread” devotional guide, a “Would You Like to Know God Personally” booklet, a subject-appropriate list of crucial Bible verses called “Guidance from God’s Word” and more-all in a waterproof bag designed to slip into a soldier’s pocket.

Santa Claus Money
Pass out $50,000 Santa Claus Bills with a salvation message. Set yourself a goal, like giving away 500 Santa Bills between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (500 for $25 ). Here are some places to give them away - Christmas parades and events, Christmas parties, hand them to everyone you meet in stores and restaurants, leave them in bathrooms and parking lots, and give some to kids to pass out to their friends.

Christmas Tree Giveaway
A few days before Christmas, lot owners are usually willing to give their leftover trees away. You can pick up free trees and deliver them to financially stretched families.

De-icing and Snow Removal
After an ice storm or snowstorm, you can help low-income Seniors clear their sidewalks and driveways. Rock salt on a slippery sidewalk can prevent falls. Clearing a driveway can prevent a heart attack if someone’s health isn’t well enough to shovel snow.

Earn Money for the Kettle
Prior to Christmas, give your kids opportunities to earn money. They can decorate their own jar that will hold the change that they earn. Find a store that has a Salvation Army bell ringer standing at the front door. Your kids will be so proud as they pour their individual jars of money into the kettle. The bell ringers stop collecting money around a week before Christmas.

A Birthday Party for Jesus
Have a real birthday party for Jesus. You can take the family to the store and buy presents to give away to a church’s Angel Tree. Wrap them up and they will be Jesus’ birthday gifts. Decorate with balloons and streamers. Plan party games, too. Some families make a chocolate cake with white frosting and cherries. The chocolate stands for our sin. The cherries stand for His blood that was shed for us. The white frosting stands for His forgiveness and our cleansing. You can invite a non-Christian neighbor kid to come to your Birthday Party for Jesus. Angel Tree shares the Gospel when they give the gifts to the children of prisoners.

Decorate a Christmas Tree
Your family can decorate a Christmas tree and give it to someone who would otherwise not have one. You can decorate it with a theme. For example, a single mom with a new baby could receive a tree decorated with baby toys.

Elves of Kindness
During the Christmas season, your family can pretend to be elves and perform acts of kindness. Here are some ideas that you might be interested in: anonymously leave a gift on someone’s doorstep, send parents a Christian Christmas card with a Toys R Us gift card or Gas gift card inside and do no write your return address on the envelope, dress up as Santa and his elves and deliver toys and food to a family in need, shovel or plow someone’s snowy driveway before they get home from work, deliver and stack firewood before the family returns home, fill a stocking and hang it from someone’s front door knob.

Neighborhood Collection
Pass out flyers in your neighborhood announcing that you will be coming around next Sat. to collect donations. Canned Food for the Church Food Pantry. Clean, gently used coats for Coats for Kids. New toys, new kitchen items, and new towels for the Battered Women’s Shelter, Clean Blankets for the Homeless Shelter, etc. This way people can give what they can. A family may not have enough food, but may have a few used children’s coats to donate.

Retrieving Cars Stuck in Snow
If you have a four-wheel drive truck, you can go out on a heavy, snow day and help pull cars out of ditches. There tends to be places and hills where cars get stuck. Our family sure has appreciated those people that have done this for us. They just happened to be there to pull us out when we need it. They sure saved us a lot of money, by not having to pay for a tow truck.

Filled Stocking
Fill up Christmas stockings for your neighbors and hang them on their doorknobs. You can give items like: a Christmas Evangelism Booklet, homemade ornaments, tangerines, and candy.

Toy Party
Throw a festive Christmas party with decorations, Christmas music, and snacks. Invite your guests to bring a new, unwrapped toy to benefit the Angel Tree or Battered Women’s Shelter.

12 Days of Christmas
Every year, the Christian organization Operation Blessing, celebrates the 12 Days of Christmas. They make Christmas special for 12 different groups of people - the elderly, shut-ins, the mentally ill, prisoners’ families, the homeless, battered women, teens in crisis, the visually impaired, foster kids, people with developmental disabilities, migrant workers, and homeless families. With financial help from others, Operation Blessing can give Christian love, a special meal, and gifts to these people.

Mitten Tree
You can set up a Mitten Tree at home or church. Your family or church members can buy or knit mittens, gloves, scarves and socks and then hang them on a Christmas tree. Donate the items to an organization or shelter that will pass them out.

Christmas Website
You can either make your own Christmas website or promote one that already exists. Explain how Jesus is the Reason for the Season, give people and invitation to Salvation, or promote Christmas Evangelism.

Write about being a Christian in your letter
Include personal stories in your family’s Christmas letter that credit God for helping you in your life over the past year.

Send out Christmas cards that include a Salvation Message
Buy or make Christmas cards that include a verse like John 3:16. Include a basic statement about Jesus being the way to Salvation.

Outdoor Decorating
Decorate the outside your home, promoting a Christian Christmas. You can set up a full nativity scene or just a baby Jesus display with a lighted star above it and a Happy Birthday Jesus banner. Maybe you want to take it even further and display a lighted cross with a salvation message.

Christmas Conversations
Ask people what they will be doing for Christmas. It’s a way to get a conversation going that may lead to talking about Christ. If they return the question, you will be able to explain what Christmas means to you.

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Invite friends over to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas DVD. The highlight of the show is when Linus reads the Christmas story.

Short Term Mission Trip At Christmas
Go to Japan to distribute the Jesus Film. How about beach ministry in the Bahamas or Katrina Relief during your Christmas vacation? Your church group can even customize a trip to Mexico, Appalachia, or Washington D.C.

Online Gift Catalog
Your family can buy a gift online and have it delivered to a family in need. Some of the Christian organizations that have online catalogs are Operation Christmas Child, Mercy Ships, Operation Blessing, and World Vision. There are many types of gifts with a variety of prices to choose from: baby chicks, Bibles for the Middle East, Bible lessons and storybooks for children, materials to build schools, churches, and hospitals, hot meals, bicycles and vehicles for missionaries, clean water, surgeries, dental care, help orphans, wheelchairs, and fishing kits.

Candy Cane Cards and Ornaments
Pass out hand made candy cane ornaments and hand made candy cane cards to your neighbors. Print the “Legend of the Candy Cane” on the inside of the cards. You could also print: John 3:16 and Jesus is the Reason.

Christian Christmas E-mail Signature
Add a signature to your e-mail that expresses the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas T-shirt Evangelism
When you go out shopping, wear a t-shirt, sweatshirt, or cap that tells about Jesus being the real meaning of Christmas.

Sell Handmade Ornaments
Help the kids make ornaments out of craft supplies. Sell them for $1 or so and donate the money to your favorite Christian Evangelistic Organization. You can even write the name of the organization of the ornament. Oriental Trading has lots of ornament ideas and craft kits for sale.

Interactive Nativity for Children
This Interactive Nativity Set includes a pop-up nativity, illustrated poem, and seven gift boxes. It’s an easy to use, hands-on lesson that tells the story of Christ’s birth and opens a child’s heart to Jesus. You can use it at Christmas parties, when you invite the neighbor children over to play, in Sunday schools, and for family devotions.

Support a Child
This Christmas, your family can commit to support a needy child in another country. For $32 a month Compassion International will provide the following for your sponsored child: opportunities to learn about Jesus, education, health care and supplemental nutrition, safe recreation, and ways to learn life skills. Or, you could give $18 to Compassion’s Christmas Gift Fund. All sponsored children, and those still waiting for a sponsor, will get a gift to open on Christmas Day.

Christmas Cards with a Message
Choose to send out Christmas Cards that have a Christian message. You can also find Christmas E-cards that explain the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Card Packets
Instead of just sending out a card, assemble packets to send. You can include a Christmas Card with a Christian message, a family photo, a Christmas Booklet with a Salvation message, bookmark, tract, ornament, personal letter, or whatever you can think of.

Financial Support to Evangelistic Ministries
There are a lot of Christian organizations trying to raise money for their outreach project. Your financial contribution can help them reach more people this Christmas or through out the whole year. Your church may be putting on a Christmas Outreach Program that needs more funding. Operation Blessing puts on Christmas parties complete with presents for poor children in the U.S. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association takes the Gospel to the U.S. troops, prisoners, and to the entire world through TV.

Care Packages for Soldiers
If you know anyone in the military, you can send that soldier a care package. A woman named Angela has made a Website that gives helpful ideas and tips for making a Military Care Package. Along with much needed practical items you can include a Christian book like The Key to Personal Peace, Christian Devotional, Christian CDs, or Christmas Booklet.

Candy Giveaway
Give out Christmas candy in front of stores or on busy walkways. Make it good candy, like a chocolate Santa. You can also give a lighthearted Christmas tract and Say “Merry Christmas!”

Be a Bell Ringer
Volunteer to be a Bell Ringer. Since there has been such a decline in volunteer bell ringers, the Salvation Army has less kettles being filled at Christmas.

Special Advent Calendar
Make a special Advent calendar that lists different generous acts and fun activities for the kids. For example: baking cookies for the local retirement home, going out to see a Christmas movie, shoveling a walkway for someone who can’t, making a Christmas craft, taking unwanted clothes or toys to a homeless shelter, and buying a gift and placing it under an “Angel Tree”.

Toy Party
Throw a festive Christmas party with decorations, Christmas music, and snacks. Invite your guests to bring a new, unwrapped toy to benefit your church’s toy collection program or a battered women’s shelter.

Happy Birthday Jesus Cakes
My kids enjoy decorating their own Birthday cakes for Jesus. I bake each one of them a round, single layer cake. When the cakes have cooled, the kids frost and then decorate them with candies, flaked coconut, marshmallows, and sprinkles. I don’t make any rules about how much candy to use. They get to decorate cakes for Jesus, all by themselves. We light a candle in each cake and sing Happy Birthday. Invite the neighbor kid over when it is time to eat the cakes. Make sure that your children explain to him why they made cakes for Jesus.

A Gift for Jesus
Give Jesus a gift of service. Volunteer for a program that just needs helpers, like a Soup kitchen or your church’s Christmas program.

Christmas Prayer Cards
When you receive Christmas cards from non-Christian friends and family, set their card in a special spot on the dining room table. At dinner, pray for the family that sent you the card. Pray that God will show your family a way to evangelize to them

Reason for the Season
Every year at Christmas, think of a new way to promote the “Reason for the Season”. Wear a Christian Christmas T-shirt or cap, deliver flyers door-to-door promoting a Christian Christmas website, dress as Santa delivering Christmas tracts with candy, make your own Christian Christmas website, make and pass out nativity ornaments, or buy discounted Christian Christmas CDs and deliver them to your neighbors with a Christian Christmas card.

Email Jesus
Write a Happy Birthday letter to Jesus and have it posted on the Internet.
When non-Christian friends come over to play, read some of the Happy Birthday Jesus messages aloud. You can also email your adult friends and tell them about the website.

Top Ten
Make a list of ten non-Christian people that you know. Pray for them and think of individual ways to evangelize to them this Christmas. These ideas are not to replace presents, if you normally give presents to some of these individuals. For example: You could send a Brio magazine subscription to a teen girl or a Breakaway magazine subscription to a teen boy. You could invite a neighbor to a Christmas Activity at your church. You could loan Christian Romance Books or Christian Romance DVDs
to a friend. You could loan a Newsboys DVD or a Livin It DVD to a family with teens.

Act Out the Story of Christ’s Birth
Your family can create some simple costumes, gather together some props and act out the Christmas story. Invite a few non-Christian neighbor kids over to watch. Perform at your own Christmas party or a relative get-together.

Doggie Treats
If you go door-to-door delivering things to people you can deliver doggie treats, too. Either make your own Doggie Treats or buy fancy ones from a pet shop.

Face Painting
Buy some special paints for face painting. Set up a couple chairs and a TV tray in a public place. Offer to paint Christmas pictures on faces for free. While you are painting someone’s face, you can have a conversation about the real meaning of Christmas. You may want to have a basket filled with tracts and cheap toys so you can offer the kids a treat to take with them.

Christmas Posters
Download and print Christmas Posters that have a Salvation message. Put them up at a University Campus, pass them out door-to-door, or mail them.

Postcards or Door Hangers for Your Neighborhood
Mail your neighbors a Christmas postcard or deliver a Christmas door hanger to their doorknob. The postcards cost about .20 each and the door hangers about .17. On the back of each one - write or print your Christmas message or invite them to your church for a special Christmas service.

Merry Christmas Missionaries
Send Christmas Cards to the missionaries that your church supports. You can also send a Christian Book or Christian Devotional. You can send used Bibles, tracts, devotionals, Christian books and magazines to missionaries through an organization called Love Packages.

Shopping Assistance for Shut-ins
Help shut-ins with their shopping needs this Christmas. You can either take them to the stores, shop and deliver to them, or teach them how to shop online. Check with your local Senior Center, Agency on Aging, Meals on Wheels, and your church members to find people interested in your help.

Activities in the Community
Put out a flyer and make a website promoting all of the Christian Christmas Activities. Call every church in your area to find out the details. Print up flyers and pass them out door-to-door. On the flyer, advertise your website that gives even more details, directions, and links to the church websites.

Promote Christmas Evangelism
Make a flyer listing Christmas Evangelism ideas. Pass it out to your Christian friends and family. Get permission to include it in the church bulletin.

Holiday Plant for Nursing Home Resident
Deliver some holiday plants to a few nursing home residents. The front desk workers will probably know of a few residents that need some extra Christmas cheer. It will give you a reason to go visit and provide you with a way to start a conversation with some of the residents.

Christmas Care Packages to College Students
Make care packages for an entire dorm. Include such things as: packages of hot chocolate, microwave popcorn, cookies, Christmas candy, silly toy, Christmas card with Christian message, and an invitation to a Christmas Event at your church.

Gifts for Nursing Homes
Your church group can donate Christian books on CD and Christian Christmas music to nursing homes. These items help pass the time, allow residents to use their imagination, and tell about Jesus and how to live as a Christian.

Weatherize Windows
Many seniors, on fixed incomes, cannot afford the plastic to weatherize their windows. However, if they had the plastic on their windows, their heating bills would be lowered. Your group can help them by purchasing the plastic, taping it around the windows, and tightening it with the heat of a hair dryer. Your local Agencies on Aging or senior center may know of people who need this service. They might already have a program like this and they are just looking for volunteers to help.

Winter Survival Kit
When people don’t have enough money for their basic needs, they are not able to buy personal items that would be helpful to have during winter. Your group can put together Winter Survival Kits and pass them out in low-income neighborhoods. In a zip lock bag, include things like: tissues, cough drops, lip balm, lotion, tea bags, and instant chicken soup packets. Stick a label to the front of the bag saying - Compliments of “your” church.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Doughnut Giveaway
Many people have to work during Christmas Eve. Get a church group together to pass out doughnuts to mall workers or whomever else you can find having to work on Christmas Eve.

Caroling and Candy Canes
Get a group together to go door-to-door caroling. You can wear matching hats that represent your church. Pass out candy canes and an invitation to your church event.

Door-to-Door Poinsettias
Your church can deliver poinsettias and Christmas cards to the neighbors that live near your church.

Wrapping Paper Giveaway
Get a group of volunteers from your church to deliver rolls of Christmas wrapping paper door-to-door. You can also include scotch tape. Tell which church you’re from or invite them to your Christmas event.

Ham Giveaway
Deliver hams in a lower income neighborhood, compliments of your church.

Mini Christmas Trees for Nursing Homes
Your church volunteers can decorate artificial mini Christmas trees or wreaths with ornaments. Then, deliver them to nursing home residents. Your volunteers can also go caroling at the nursing home, conduct a Christmas sing-a-long, or transport residents by van to your Christmas event.

Meals for Firefighters
Your church can show kindness and appreciation to firefighters by providing some steaks to grill. Include other foods like deli salads, and rolls to give a complete meal. Let them know in advance that you are coming, so they won’t have dinner already made.

Christmas Day Baskets
Find volunteers to deliver baskets of cookies or other treats to those who have to work on Christmas day - police departments, fire stations, and hospitals.

Community Christmas Party
Get someone to dress as Santa. He can go door-to-door passing out flyers inviting families to a Neighborhood Christmas Party at the church. The kids can play games, make Christmas crafts, watch a Christmas DVD, and have hot cocoa and cookies. The adults can enjoy a Christmas Music Concert, Coffee, Hot Cocoa, and cookies.

Indoor Details
If visitors will be coming to your church during the Christmas season, make sure you take care of all the details. You can have a bulletin board that displays photos of fun events at your church. You can have a bulletin board announcing upcoming events and classes. Have brochures available in obvious locations that advertise what your church has to offer. Encourage church members to be friendly and accommodating to visitors.

One Invitation - One Guest
Hand out printed invitations to your Christmas Event to all of your regular attendees. Ask them to pray for one person that God is leading them to invite. They can either mail or hand-deliver the invitations to the person they’ve been praying for. Make a goal like - one visitor for every church member.

Winter Carnival
Invite the public to an outdoor winter carnival. Some entertaining ideas are: ice carving demonstrations, broom hockey, costumed characters walking around, outdoor Christian rock concert, snow mobile races, tug-of-war, log sawing contest, snowshoe races, bonfire, hayrides or sleigh rides, and food. People will stay longer if you open up the church basement and invite everyone if to warm up with hot cocoa and cookies.

Another Location
Instead of holding a Christmas service at your church, you can have it at a neutral location. People may feel less inhibited if they don’t have to worry about going into a church or what they should wear. Some ideas for a Christmas service are - a park, a Christmas tree farm, a school gym, a mall.

Free Babysitting
Your teenagers can offer free babysitting at the church the 3 weekends before Christmas. Church members can get their non-Christian friends to sign up for an evening of free babysitting at the church while they get to go Christmas shop. Maybe the kids will want to come back on Sunday for children’s church.

Celebrity Connection
Invite a local Christian “celebrity” to participate in your Christmas program. You could ask the mayor to provide narration, have the local pageant queen sing, or have a local DJ or news anchor participate.

Business Outreach
Visit the various businesses around your church. Surprise the employees with a basket of cookies and Christmas candy to share. You can say - “Merry Christmas from your neighbors at ____ church.”

Free Coffee and Doughnuts
Announce on your reader board that the church will be providing free coffee and doughnuts in the mornings the week before Christmas. Provide a nice Christmas atmosphere in your foyer with decorations, Christmas music, and friendly hostesses.
Make sure to invite everyone to your Christmas church service.

Holiday Travelers
Get church volunteers to help out at rest areas. It may be against the rules to set up a table. But your volunteers could pass out doughnuts and coffee or free coffee coupons. Wear T-shirts or caps that identify you as part of a Christian church group.
Your volunteers could also make special arrangements with a gas station. Give each driver a $2 card towards the purchase of their gas, compliments of your church. Or, pay for 1 gallon of gas. You can also clean their windshield, give out free coffee, and wish them a Merry Christmas.

Christmas Tree Collection
Everyone needs to get rid of his or her tree. A few days after Christmas, offer to haul them away for the neighborhood.

Coffee at Bus or Subway Stops
Church volunteers can take coffee and donuts to bus stops and offer it to those waiting for the bus. You can print your church name on the coffee cup sleeve if you want.

Free Cappuccino
Set up a portable espresso machine on a college campus. While the free coffee drink is being made, you can have a conversation with the student. You can also set out flyers advertising the Christian clubs on campus. You may need to do this outreach through a campus club.

Craft Night
Host a Christmas Craft Night. Kids can make crafts for their parents and grandparents for Christmas presents. Oriental Trading has over a hundred low cost Christmas Crafts Kits to choose from or just to get ideas.

Umbrella Escort
On a rainy day, volunteers can go to a store and help people to their car with huge golf umbrellas. This would be really helpful if people are hauling a bunch of presents to their car.

Church Float
Create a float for your local Christmas light parade to advertise your church. Fill the float with happy, waving volunteers. Some people can be handing out Little Christmas Toys . Have some people hand out flyers announcing the Christmas Concert, free cookies and hot cocoa after the parade.

Snack Booth
Set up a booth at a community Christmas event and give away free drinks and Christmas snacks - like red and green sprinkled doughnuts.

Hot Dog Giveaway
Decorate the outside of a hotdog card and fill it with hotdogs. During a busy Christmas shopping day, give away free hot dogs and an invitation to your church Christmas event. You might even want to have a trio playing Christmas music.

Free Christmas Balloons
At an outdoor mall, give out free Christmas balloons. Maybe you will want to have them printed with your church name, too.

Christmas Dress Up
A group can dress up as Santa, Mrs. Claus, and elves and spread good cheer. They may want to pass out invitations to the Church Christmas Party, concert, or service.

Christmas Sing-a-long
Invite the Community to a simple sing-a-long at your church. You may want to advertise it as a casual event, so people will feel comfortable coming in their regular clothes. You can sing both religious carols and secular Christmas songs. Afterwards, invite everyone to have cookies and hot cocoa.

Ornaments for Socks
Have the children at church make Christmas ornaments. Oriental Trading has a lot of easy Christmas ornament kits for kids to make. Church members can exchange packs of white tube socks for an ornament. Then, you can donate the socks to a local charity.

Live Nativity Story Exhibit
Set up a live nativity outside of your church. Have a starting point and start the Christmas story with the first exhibit. Use real people and animals, if you can. Continue with the Exhibits ending at a door to your church. Invite guests in for hot cocoa and doughnuts. Have your church members provide conversation and information about your church.

Christmas Movie Night for the Children
Invite the children in the community to come watch Christmas movies like A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Adventures in Odyssey Electric Christmas, and Veggie Tales Christmas

Christmas Supper or Potluck
Put on a supper with donated food or have everyone bring potluck food. Ask for donations from your church members who attend. Send the money to the Missionary Families that your church supports for their Christmas gifts. Or, send the money for something special that is needed like a bicycle or vehicle. Your church members can invite non-Christian friends to come to the supper. But, don’t ask them for donations. Your choir or youth may want to provide Christmas music.

Christmas for Prisoners
Get a church group together to put on a Christmas program and deliver Christmas gifts to prisoners. You’ll need to work with the prison to find out all the rules about what you can and can’t do.

Alternative Gift Fair
Set up a table to display items that can be given out through evangelism. Example: baskets of food, toys for “angel tree”, laptops showing the websites of Online Gift Catalogs, etc. Send a Christmas card to the person who the gift was given in honor of. Or, everyone who makes a gift purchase is entered in a drawing for donated door prizes.

Christmas Bazaar Fundraiser
Ask volunteers to make and donate crafts and baked items for a Christmas bazaar. Send the profits to an evangelistic organization or use for an outreach project.

Public Concert
The church choir or children’s choir can sing at a local mall. You’ll be able to promote your church and your Christmas events. The retailers will appreciate the free entertainment.

Free Picture with Santa
Offer free pictures with Santa at a public place. You can use a digital camera and digital printer, so that the picture is ready quickly. Santa can give out good candy - like a chocolate Santa, and a Kid’s Tract.

Winter Car Washes / Desalting
In the snowy parts of the US, roads are de-iced with salt and sand. Salt corrodes the underside of cars and needs to be sprayed off. On a day when it isn’t too cold, your group could offer free desalting and car washes.

Windshield Ice Scraping at Apartment Complexes
After a snowstorm, get a group of volunteers to head out early to an apartment complex. Clean the snow off all the windows. You can leave a business card on the windshield that says - Merry Christmas. We hope you’re having a joyful holiday season. Your neighbors at ___ Church.

Windshield Ice Scrapers
Buy scrapers with your church name imprinted on them. Add a slogan that would make people interested in visiting your church. Distribute them on car windshields freshly scraped by a group from your church.

Free Hot Cocoa Coupons
Purchase hot cocoa coupons from a place in the mall. Give them out to shoppers on a Christmas shopping day.

Free Christmas Gift Wrapping
Your group can wrap Christmas presents at a mall. Advertise your church and invite people to your Christmas Event through your free present wrapping table. Consider offering other free items like the book More Than a Carpenter or a Bible or Christmas tracts.

Grocery Bag Loading Assistance
Get permission from the store first. Then, gather together a group of people to load bags from the carts into the cars. This will be especially helpful for moms with little kids and Seniors. It also provides an opportunity for a short conversation and to spread some Christmas cheer. Wear nametags, T-shirts, or caps to identify your group. It will make your loading assistants look more official and it will advertise your Christian group.

Bag Packing at Self-Serve Grocers
Work out an arrangement with the store manager of a “bag your own groceries” store. Get cheerful volunteers to help bag up groceries at the end of each checkout counter. Your volunteers can wear matching aprons with your logo on them.

Grocery Cart Returns
In a store parking lot, offer to return shopping carts for shoppers. Your group can wear certain hats that represent your church. You can tell shoppers that your church is doing a service project for the community.

Red Roses
Hand out red roses or carnations in a busy shopping area. Offer them to men also. They can give them away if they want to. Your volunteers may want wear something to represent your church.

Christmas Candles
Volunteers can go door-to-door in the neighborhood and pass out a scented Christmas candle and a matchbook with your church name printed on it.

Firewood Giveaway
Ask around the church, at the Agency on Aging, and the Senior Center if anyone knows of Seniors who need some firewood. Recruit some church members to deliver the wood and stack it.

(Fish Nativity Image by ChristArt.com)

Evangelism Ideas for Summer

You’ll enjoy your summer more if you’re serving Jesus. Here are some ideas for evangelism, witnessing, and community outreach that you can be a part of this summer.

Camp Counselor
Spend your summer hanging out with kids and being a Christian role model for them.

10 Commandment Necklaces
Pass out 10 Commandment Necklaces at a festival, fair, beach, park, outdoor music concert - anywhere there is a group of people. The coins used in these necklaces list the 10 Commandments, a short gospel message, and the NeedGod.com website.

Rest Area Outreach
Your church group can pass out snacks and cold drinks at the rest areas. Leave Million Dollar Tracts and 10 Commandment Coins in the bathrooms and parking lots. Bless a large family by giving them some money to help with their trip or eating out at the Travel Plazas on the East Coast.

Tollbooth Tipper
When you’re traveling along the turnpikes this summer, tip the tollbooth workers - a real bill and a Million Dollar Tract. Each million dollar has a short gospel message on the back.

Help at VBS
Volunteer to help with VBS and round up those neighborhood kids. You can take VBS flyers door to door, post notices at the public pool, and pass out flyers to parents in the park. Encourage the church kids to invite their non-Christian friends.

Summer Day Care
Many parents have trouble finding good quality, affordable day care for their kids during the summer. Your church can provide a day care for grade school aged kids. What a wonderful opportunity to teach kids spiritual truths, provide a positive influence on them, mentor, encourage, and motivate the children to follow Jesus.

Church Picnic
At your next church picnic- offer free pop and hotdogs to others in the park, invite them to come over for your skits or relay game time.

Give out Sunscreen
Take along sunscreen when you go to an outdoor event or to the beach. Offering some sunscreen is a great way to show you care and start a conversation. You can also walk around the beach and give away bottles of it. Check the dollar store to see if you can get each bottle for a dollar, otherwise this can be an expensive type of outreach.

Outdoor Christian Rock Concert
Join together with other churches to raise money to hire a professional Christian rock group. Make sure every kid in town is invited for free, use buses and vans to transport them, plan follow up events, and plan for your youth group to grow.

Summer Activities in the Community
Make a flyer and a website promoting all of the local Christian Summer Activities: VBS, summer Camps, day camps, free Christian concerts, picnics, etc. Call every church in your area to find out the details for their events. On the flyer, advertise: all of the free activities to keep your family busy this summer, your website that gives even more details, directions, and links to the church websites. Pass out the flyers door-to-door. Check with the local schools. They may pass out the flyers to each kid, especially if they are some educational activities on the list.

Promote TheFreeBeeSite.com
Make and wear a T shirt or hat that promotes TheFreeBeeSite.com. This site tells people how to order a free Bible, a free book from Billy Graham, get free prayer counseling over the phone, or other items that explain Salvation.

Outdoor Dinner Drama
Put on free play, invite the community to bring a picnic dinner and lawn chairs. Pass out information about how wonderful your church is.

Host a College Student During Summer Vacation
Make arrangements through a college or your church to have a student stay with you during Summer Vacation. Dorms close during the summer, and the students who stay in town have a hard time trying to find a place to stay. Some students don’t want to go home, or they stay for a job or internship.

Invite a Kid to Camp
Find a Christian camp for your child and have him invite a non-Christian friend to go, too. Pay for the friend.

Invite Friend to go on a Work Mission Trip
Plan to go on a construction working mission trip. Invite a non-Christian friend to go with you and work. Help get your friends part funded, too.
Summer Read-a-thon for Children’s Church
Kids can do a read-a-thon to raise money for their favorite evangelistic ministry. They can get sponsors to pledge money for every book or page that they read.

Grow Vegetables
Grow extra vegetables in your garden and give them to a local Christian soup kitchen.

Gleaning
Get a group of volunteers together to glean the fields and donate the fruits or vegetables to a food bank.

House Maintenance Team
Form a group of volunteers to help repair houses of elderly people or low-income people.

Fishing Trip or Camp Out for Men
The men at church can invite their friends, neighbors, and co-workers to go on a men’s fishing trip or camp out. You can provide good food, a fishing clinic, speaker that gives his testimony, and the pastor can invite all the men to visit other church activities and classes that the men would enjoy.

Brown Bag Lunch Concert
If your church is located in the city or near a place where people work - put on a contemporary Christian concert during lunchtime. Hang a huge sign on the church so that people see it on their way to work. Invite people to bring their lunch and listen to the music every Friday through out the summer.

Garage Sale
Have a garage sale in the church gym or basement. Ask for donated items and raise money for a specific evangelistic church ministry. On a table: Offer free Christian Books and free Bibles and information about your church.

Children’s Event at the Park
Rent the covered area during a warm, busy day. Put up signs inviting all. Bring kids from the church, too. Ideas - Christian music performers, magicians, Christian crafts table, puppet show, snacks and invitations to Children’s Church.

Fourth of July Celebration
Throw a Fourth of July Celebration at your church. Invite the public by word of mouth, a large sign in front of your church, and door-to-door invitations. Your church can - have relay games, pie eating contests, set up play equipment and contests for the kids, honor veterans, provide free food, have a patriotic concert, give each kid a little bag filled with Christian party favors www.orientaltrading.com and pocket New Testaments, have face painting and free concession stands, provide information about the ministries and classes at your church. You can get even more information about this type of evangelistic event at the Christianity Today site.

Summer Parade
Does your town have a Founder’s Day parade or 4th of July parade? Your church can participate and build a float. Pass out flyers that tell about your church’s summer events.

Science or Art Club
Church volunteers can start a club that meets at the church during summer. Advertise to the neighborhood and invite the kids to come.

Free Lunches
Some states offer a free lunch program for kids, during the summer. They suppln organization or church with government money to make sack lunches and give them away for free. If a program like this doesn’t exist in your state, your church could still do it - just get donated lunch food and recruit some volunteers.

Free Carwashes
Have a free carwash in your church parking lot. Advertise to everyone and refuse donations. Give away flyers that tell about the exciting things to do at your church and invite everyone to come.

Witness on Vacation
Turn your vacation into a mission trip. The Witness on Vacation site lists over 50 ways to witness while you are traveling.

Outdoor Church Service
On a nice Sunday morning or Saturday evening, have a worship service outside on the church lawn or at a nearby park. Hang a banner to invite people to come. Or, deliver flyers door-to-door through out the neighborhood.

Renew Your Vows Ceremony
Have a huge “renew your vows” wedding ceremony at your church. Invite couples in the community to come renew their wedding vows and enjoy the reception that follows.

Minister to an Elderly Person
Offer to mow an older person’s lawn or help out around their house. You can also volunteer to drive the person to church.

How To Homeschool Seminar
Hold a free How to Homeschool Seminar at your church. Have homeschool families available to chat with and a table filled with curriculum to look through.

Friday Night Hang Out
Open up the church and invite the local teenagers. Plan summer activities, outdoor games like volleyball, movies, snacks, and pool tournaments.

Back to School Welcome to College Students
If you’re part of a campus ministry like - Campus Crusade for Christ or Intervarsity, welcome the students to school. You can help new students move in to the dorms, set up information tables about your group, host a Back to School Barbeque, offer cold water or frozen icy pops to hot students, and invite students to your first big meeting.

Support Summer Outreaches with Your Money
There are a lot of Christian organizations trying to raise money for their outreach projects. Your financial contribution can help them reach more people this summer. You can support: Orphans Going to a Christian Summer Camp, the church mission trip, or a special church outreach event.

Summer Day Camp
Put on a summer day camp at your church. It can be similar to VBS, but include activities that kids would do at camp.

Free Bottled Water
Your church group can give away cold bottled water at events or at the beach. You can also give away a tract with the water.

Polaroid Photos
Take Polaroid photos at summer events. Give them away for free along with a business card that tells your church name, address, website address, and service times.

Wear a Costume and Pass Out Tracts
Dress up in an animal costume and pass out comic tracts to kids in public places and at public events.

Tailgate Party
Invite the community to a tailgate party in your church parking lot. Tell them to bring their own lawn chairs, food, and pop. The church provides the concert and fireworks.

Face Painting in the Park
Set up a table near the kids and start painting faces. You can also offer free kids tracts and invitations to church or VBS

Free Doggie Wash
Hold a free doggie wash at your church. Give out free Doggie Treats and information about how wonderful your church is.

Sports Clinic
Invite neighbor kids to a sports clinic in the local park. Church highschoolers can coach, provide refreshments, and invite the kids to church.

Bike and Skateboard Tricks Event
Invite and take non-Christian kids to a Luis Palau event or hold your own. Hire a group that performs at county fairs an other events to come set up outside your church. Invite the community, and advertise what your church has to offer

International Students Ministry
Your church can minister to the high school and college exchange students. Every Saturday, take them on a bus to see a site or a tourist place. Have get-togethers for the students and invite them to dinner at your house.

Father’s Day Car Show
Invite the community to a free car show in your church parking lot. Give out free hotdogs and pop and have a lot of friendly church members available to great the guests.

Story Time at the Church
Once a week, hold a story time for younger kids. Plan a craft that does along with the story and have a snack, too.

Wedding Coordinator Ministry
You can offer a free wedding coordinator service through your church for couples trying to keep expenses at a minimum. You can help by letting them use your items so that they won’t have to rent them: candelabras, punch bowl, wedding music CDs, silk flower arrangements and bouquets, table cloths, plates, and silverware. Learn money saving ideas in Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot

Church Service at the Fair
Make arrangements with your county fair so that your church can have a morning service there on Sunday.

Fun Fridays
Every Friday, provide a weekly opportunity for kids to go on a summer field trip through your church. Encourage the church kids to invite their non-Christian friends.

Baby Sitting Course
Your church can offer free babysitting training to teens in the community. This is a good opportunity to tell about your church youth group, also.

Sports Activities at Your Church
Invite the community and friends of church members to come - play softball or basketball, and play at open gym night.

Your Christian Band
Form a Christian band and play at: fairs, free concerts in the park, churches, parties, etc.

Kids 5-Day Club
This summer do a 5-Day Club through Child Evangelism Fellowship. Take the club to the where the children are - park, apartment complex, or trailer park.

(Fish Image by ChristArt.com)