Be creative this year for Christmas. Plan a unique or meaningful class party. Instead of catering a meal or planning a potluck for regular attenders, make plans to include or touch others.
Invite guests to the party. Pick them up. Treat them as royalty. Don’t embarrass them. Introduce them to your friends. Have fun together. Eat dessert or a meal together. Look them in the eyes when you listen to them. Call them by name. Laugh together. Invite them to class. After the party, continue the relationship. Invite them again.
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Focus your Christmas efforts on ministering to a needy group or reach out to a community group. For instance, serve in a soup kitchen. Feed the hungry. Collect and take food to a needy family. Collect diapers and supplies for an abuse shelter. Collect coats. But even better is to identify an individual or group in need and develop an ongoing relationship with him, her, or them. Share Christmas gifts. Share a drama or monologue. Share the Christmas story. Share a testimony. Be a friend. Care.
There are many groups which can be the focus of your reaching efforts in the community. Express your Christmas appreciation to school teachers. Thank firemen, policemen, and other community service people. Identify the group. Look for an open door for ministry. Seek an ongoing opportunity for interaction. Get to know them by name. Do it early enough that family plans will not conflict. Involve as many of your class members as possible.
Instead of gifts for each other, collect gifts for needy. Instead of thinking about each other, give to others. Instead of a meal for each other, feed the needy. This Christmas instead of receiving as a class, give. Give because Jesus gave to you. Give because He loved you first. Give because others need your love and His.
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