12 Christmas Outreach Event Ideas for Your Church

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Everyone is looking to get into the Christmas spirit.

Some people may be looking for fun activities they can do with their family. Others may be struggling with loneliness, physical needs, stress or depression and wondering if there really is a God behind Christmas that gives peace, hope, and joy.

This is why Christmas is one of the best opportunities for your church to connect with people in your community through Christmas outreach events. As you think and pray about ways to share Jesus with you, we ‘ve got some Christmas outreach ideas to share with you and your church.

12 Christmas Outreach Ideas for Churches

1. Christmas Gift Drive for Underprivileged Children

Organize a Christmas gift drive or “Angel Tree” to collect gifts for children in need. Look for opportunities to partner with local schools, nonprofits and businesses.

The Christians gift drive could be combined with a Christmas party for the kids and families receiving the gives, giving you the opportunity to connect with them personally, invite them to Christmas Eve services, give them a tour of your church, and possibly even share the gospel with them.

2. Christmas Caroling in the Community

Form a choir or singing group to go caroling in the community, spreading holiday cheer at nursing homes, hospitals, public spaces and residential areas.

People will ask you about your group, so be prepared to introduce yourself and invite people to your Christmas Eve services or other Christmas events. Bring printed invitations that include your web address, email address and phone number.

3. Adopt-a-Family

Identify families facing financial challenges and encourage church members to “adopt” a family by providing them with food, gifts, and other essentials.

Try to make it more than an a quick drop-off. Make connections, get to know the families you’re helping, exchange contact info, and invite them to gather with your church.

4. Community Christmas Dinner

Host a free Christmas dinner for the community, especially for those who may be alone during the holidays.

The dinner could be immediately before your Christmas Eve service, making it easier for guests to stay for the service. Or it could be hosted around lunch-time on Christmas Day, which could be a blessing for those who might otherwise spend Christmas day alone.

5. Holiday Craft Fair / Bake Sale / Fundraiser

There are so many creative ideas for Christmas crafts – ornaments, centerpieces, decorations, handmade gifts – the possibilities are endless!  People are constantly looking for new and unique Christmas gifts they can give to family and friends. So, Christmas craft fairs are enormously popular!

Here are some suggestions to make make the most of your church’s Christmas craft fair:

1. Host it early in December while people still have money to spend and gifts to buy.
2. Charge venders a fee for each table to raise money for a special cause.
3. Live Christmas music. Have you choir or worship team play live music. Not only does this improve the ambiance  but it also introduces visitors to the music and worship leaders they would experience if they were to come to a worship service.
4. Sell coffee and baked goods. Combine your Christmas craft fair with a Christmas bake sale.
5. Promote it online. Make sure info about the craft fair is on your website and on your social media profiles. Share info with your Chamber of Commerce. If any of your vendors have their own websites or Etsy shops, cross-promote with them.
6. Christmas Eve signage and invitations. As with all of these events, don’t miss the opportunity to share info about your Christmas Eve services and invite guests to join you.

6. Family Christmas Festival

Host a family-friendly Christmas festival at your church.  Provide games and snacks for kids. Maybe even photos with Santa.

7. Christmas Eve in the Park

Instead of asking visitors to come to you for Christmas Eve, consider doing your Christmas Eve service in a public place like a park.  Try to choose a location that gets some drive-by or foot traffic.  Consider doing it during the afternoon when people are more likely to be out and about.

8. Parents Shopping Day Out

Provide free or low cost childcare so the parents of young children can go Christmas shopping without them.

Give the kids a great experience so they will want to come back Christmas Eve or on a Sunday. And as with any event, try to make personal connections with the parents and personal invitations to your Christmas Eve services.

Make sure you use all the same safety and security check-in/check-out system that you use Sunday mornings with background-checked volunteers, so that parents feel confident leaving their children with you, and know first-hand they would comfortable bringing their children to Sunday school or children’s church on a Sunday.

9. Christmas Movie Night

Organize a free movie night for people in the community featuring a classic, family-friendly Christmas movie. If it’s not too cold, you could do it outside.  Make sure you have plenty of popcorn and hot chocolate!

10. Live Nativity Scene

Create a live nativity scene in a public space or on your church property, sharing the Christmas story with passersby. If you want to go all out and give people a unique experience, include live sheep, goats, a donkey, and maybe even wise men with camels!

11. Be Neighborly

Some of the best opportunities for outreach are not organized by the church itself but by regular Christ-followers being the church with their neighbors. Encourage the people of your church to be neighborly!

• Bake cookies and give them to neighbors
• Host a Christmas dinner or Christmas party for neighbors
• Help older or disabled neighbors decorate for Christmas
• Invite single neighbors to join your family for Christmas dinner

And encourage everyone to look for opportunities to share what Christmas and Jesus mean to them.

12. Engage people with Christmas in Social Media

Most people – even those who don’t yet follow Jesus – want to get in the Christmas spirit and enjoy the season.  This is a great opportunity for your church to share Christmas music/videos, Christmas quotes and Christmas devotionals.

To maximize your reach, don’t just share them on your church’s social media channels, but encourage your people to share them on their social media channels so their friends will see them.

Christmas is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas. -Dale Evans

No matter which Christmas ideas your church uses for its outreach events, you’ll also want to promote those events online. Rather than share the same strategies at the bottom of every church outreach ideas article we write for every season and holiday, we’ll just point you to…

7 Ways to Promote Your Church Outreach Event Online

And if you’d like some help with a church website builder, church web design or church SEO so you can have your best Christmas outreach ever, fill out the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to schedule a call.

Comment and Discuss

• What Christmas outreach events is your church planning?

Want more church outreach ideas?  Church Outreach Ideas & Events for Every Holiday and Season

Continue reading… Your Christmas Communications Playbook