The Most Important Day for your Christmas Outreach

When do you know that you, and your church, have had a ‘good Christmas’?

Christmas Day?

Christmas Eve? (otherwise known as National Christingle Day.)

Your carol service? (otherwise known as National Once-a-Year Church Attendance Day.)

Ah, your church prayer meeting in December?

No.

Monday 15th January.

Because that’s the day we find out whether our Christmas preaching, teaching and outreach has made a difference.

Joy in January 

15th January 2018 is ‘Blue Monday’—the most depressing day of the year, apparently, because the third Monday of January combines post-Christmas low mood, cold dark nights, and the arrival of the credit card bill that itemises our December spending, and now requires paying.

Now, Blue Monday is actually the invention of a travel company (because if only you went on holiday in mid-January, you’d feel better)—but it’s true that January rather than December provides us with a good gauge of whether or not we’ve grasped the joy of the incarnation, and whether or not we’ve communicated that joy to our community.

It’s in January’s reality that we discover whether are treating Jesus as a baby in a manger at Christmas, or the Lord of all of life throughout the year.

It’s easy to be joyful (or at least pretend) at Christmas. It’s harder, and more precious, to be truly joyful on Blue Monday.

It’s easy to get people to sing at a carol service in December. But if they’re still thinking about the gospel on Blue Monday—well, that’s the real win.

Christmas is a break from reality. Blue Monday is deep in reality. And it’s in reality that the gospel needs to make a real difference, and can make a unique difference. It’s in January’s reality that we discover whether we, and others, are deep down treating Jesus as a baby in a manger at Christmas, or the Lord of all of life throughout the year.

So the question we ask ourselves about how well Christmas went at church needs to be not ‘How many came to our carol service this year?’ or ‘What innovative outreach events did we hold in December this year?’ or ‘Did our kids get as excited about Jesus as about presents this year?’ (great questions though they are).

Christmas is about the coming of the Joy-Bringer, who offers a joy that lasts way beyond the turkey and the tinsel and the tree.

It needs to be: ‘What difference did our Christmas preaching and outreach make on 15th January?’

Now of course, only the Spirit can change lives and bring joy. But he usually works through the work of God’s people. So here are three ways to get Christmas joy to last till Blue Monday (and beyond):

1. This January, reflect on the incarnation. There are some great advent devotionals. Being honest, if I start one in advent, I miss out a few days here and there, and am only halfway through come Christmas. This year, I’m going to keep going into January—so that when Blue Monday arrives, I’m still thinking each day about the greatest gift the world has ever seen.
2. This Christmas, preach about real life, not just December life. Whether in a normal service or an evangelistic event, make sure that you are showing how the truths transform our minds, hearts, and lives in January. What does the incarnation mean on 15th January? That’s the question people aren’t necessarily asking, but always need answering.
3. This December, give people something they’ll still have in January. Put something in the hands of every non-Christian who comes to everything you do. Let’s be realistic: humanly-speaking, people are unlikely to recall what was said or sung in a carol service come mid-January. But they might notice a Gospel that they left on a bookshelf or shoved in some corner. They might read a short book that they started the night of the carol service, enjoyed the first chapter of, and now return to. Give them something to keep, that gives them a gospel message to be reminded of.

Christmas is about the coming of the Joy-Bringer, who offers a joy that lasts way beyond the turkey and the tinsel and the tree. He offers a joy that transforms even Blue Monday. And it’s only on the bluer days that we discover whether we, and those we saw at Christmas, have grasped the glory of the gospel.

Rescuing Christmas is a short book by Carl Laferton that shows how the meaning of the first Christmas gives us what we are all seeking—a real joy that really lasts. Find FREE resources for your Christmas outreach here.