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The season of giving extends beyond gifts for small churches. Christmas outreach ideas present opportunities to reach out to the local community, meet needs, and build relationships.
Keep reading for ideas to become involved in community outreaches and for new ideas to be present in the community and meet needs.
The Greatest Gift To Give This Christmas
What’s one thing you love about our Small Church Ministry community? I know, who can name just one? One thing that always comes to mind is how willing everyone is to share ideas and what works for their small church.
This is part of what makes our community so special. It should be no surprise when we asked our community to share favorite Christmas outreach ideas for ministry during the holidays, you came through!
It’s like one big Christmas gift we can all unwrap together and use to bring the message of Jesus to our communities. We hope you are excited to find some ideas for your small church to try this holiday!
Looking for something fresh and new for the holiday season?
Check out the Blue Christmas Pack & the Advent Worship Pack!
Find Out What’s Happening In Your Community
There are several ways to find out what’s happening in your community. Check your city or town website for posted activities. Your local parks and recreation department may have events listed under their department page on the website.
For those who don’t have or can’t find info on the website, make a phone call. Call your city hall to start. Talk to your neighbors, and vendors at the Farmer’s Market, or check with the fairgrounds.
Some newspaper websites have community calendars. Local grocery stores, restaurants, and libraries are notable places for flyers about upcoming events.
If your community doesn’t have a Christmas Parade or a Christmas Tree display, talk with someone at city hall and propose you work together to find an idea that could work for your small town.
Gather a team together to brainstorm ideas such as a reverse parade. Instead of people sitting on the sidelines watching the parade pass, encourage downtown store owners to deck their windows or set up parade floats at the park for residents to drive by.
Your Favorite Small Church Christmas Outreach Ideas
One of the best things about the outreaches below is they use people of all ages in your small church, working together and serving in love! These projects serve the purpose of sharing the Gospel message and also promote intergenerational fellowship within your church. This can build unity and joy in your small church family. These outreaches can also help your church establish a presence and caring reputation within your community!
Getting involved in community events can be an easy Christmas outreach for your small church. Explore what goes on in your area and see how your church could be involved, support, and connect with the event.
Join In Parades & Festivals
- Adre Hurst shares that every year, her small church gets involved in their community by participating in the local Christmas parade. They use the parade as a way to get the name of their church known in their town as well as make connections with local people.
- Cheri Kulhawick is part of a new church plant. They brainstorm and design a float for their town’s Christmas parade. The banner hanging on the back of the truck shows their church name and logo. Especially since they are a new church in the area, this event helps them increase their visibility.
- Becky Sargent’s church in Cape Coral, Florida, often participates in the town tree lighting and holiday festival. The city closes off the main streets and fills them with vendor food and craft booths, face painting, and lots of shows and bands. Becky’s church reserves a few spaces.
They set up a Christmas photo backdrop for selfies. Church volunteers walk in their area in Rudolph and Frosty costumes. In another area, they give away bags of popcorn; one year, over 1200 bags! In the third area, they set up a “rest area” filled with tables and chairs, bottles of water, a table with church information, and prayer cards for attendees if they’d like people to pray for them.
Two Rural Churches Join In Community Events
Often, ministry opportunities are open to rural churches that don’t happen in larger cities. Even though you may not have the resources to run a full 5-day VBS, there are many other ways to participate in community events, bless those in your community, and show your community you care.
- One small town in Ohio lines Main Street with luminaries for a Christmas walk. (Local businesses are required to help fill and set up the luminaries.) This kicks off the season of shopping downtown. Stores stay open later and offer big specials. Local groups offer tables with hot chocolate and cookies. One group sells Christmas trees on the corner lot.
To be involved, the Shreve Alliance Church contacted the town and offered to join the team that filled and set up the luminaries. This helped the church be involved with a community event and connect with the local business owners and townspeople.
- The Parks and Recreation Department in a small town hosts an annual Christmas Tree Display at the local park. Jennifer Kay attended a church that joined in the fun, supported their community’s idea, and added a tree to the display. They also placed several church business cards on the branches for those looking for a church to attend.
Four Ways To Serve Your Community
People in our communities are more open and receptive to church activities during the holidays. Research existing needs and interests in your community. Speak to leaders, school counselors, neighbors, and others. Work with your small church to plan an event or Christmas outreach that zones in on those needs or interests.
- Carie McMaster’s small church found a way to simply connect with their community during the holiday season. Every Friday night in December, one of the ministry groups from their church sets up a table outside a downtown store and shopping area. They serve apple cider or hot cocoa (including a candy cane stir stick!) Their sole purpose is to offer hospitality, wish passersby a Merry Christmas, and make a friendly connection. No strings attached, and absolutely NO donations accepted. It’s a time for a group of God’s people to happily serve a little holiday warmth to their community.
- Check out the first suggestion in How To Expand Your Small Church Outreach. You can do a Coins & Conversation event any time of year, but what a blessing to help parents save money at Christmas when the budget can be stretched thin!
- We love the thinking at John Lynn’s small church, where they provide free babysitting on a couple of the Friday nights between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They provide parents in their community a chance to get some Christmas shopping done while the church offers fun activities to the children. They make some meaningful connections to invite families to their Christmas services.
- Ten Small Church Holiday Outreach Ideas gives details on how to host a gift-wrapping station at a local business or event. This is a fantastic way to serve your community with a chore that can be overwhelming to some people!
Plan A Hot Chocolate Event
- Teresa Pruett describes a Christmas outreach her small church does called Chocolatada. The name is inspired by the hot chocolate and Panetón refreshments they serve. Panetón is a traditional Peruvian/Italian fruit cake. People from Peru consider it a very special gift.
Guests walk through an area, visiting different evangelical skits. After the skits, everyone is invited to enjoy refreshments and connect with others. Each family leaves with a gospel tract and some Panetón. Each child receives a gift of a small wrapped toy donated by the church family.
- Thinking of a way to serve those in our community and church during the Christmas season takes time and observation. One small church where Ibrahim Deborah attends provides a Couples’ Night Out with added benefits.
Their children attend a separate fun program and have a devotional time; this gives the parents a well-deserved break. The church offers a night for couples to learn ways to improve their relationship skills and learn to handle stress during the holidays! (Local counselors give this workshop.)
Find tips to help you plan the kids’ program in The Perfect Timeline To Host A Kids’ Night Out.
This event can easily be done as a workshop in a group setting with just one or two counselors.
Ibrahim’s church also includes a special gathering for the singles to have fellowship, fun, and devotional time geared towards their needs.
- One new church in Cheri Kulhawick’s town blessed the teachers of a local elementary school. The day before Christmas break, they filled the teacher’s lounge with a taco bar lunch, Christmas Cookie desserts, and individual baggies with printed thank-you notes of appreciation and homemade snacks.
Looking for something fresh and new for the holiday season?
Check out the Blue Christmas Pack & the Advent Worship Pack!
Impact Your Communities With Small Church Outreach
Imagine the impact we can have in our communities at Christmas by sharing with them the greatest news ever told! These events can build connections within our communities and church families. The joy and truth of Christmas motivate our small church members to be excited to step up and get involved with these outreaches.
The Book of 1 John tells us exactly why reaching out to others is so important.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
1 John 4:9-11 NLT
Small church community outreaches are some of the best ways to share that love at Christmas!
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