Are you looking for Christmas Outreach Ideas where you can help out people in need? Do you want to spread some holiday joy? During the Christmas season, it’s important to share the holiday spirit with those who might not be as fortunate.
Here are 30 Christmas outreach ideas for various activities that will make an impact while fellowshiping and having a good time during the holiday season.
Christmas Outreach Ideas For Churches
The love of Christ is what the Christmas season is all about, and churches play an important role in community outreach. Here are some ministry ideas specifically tailored for churches.
- Christmas Caroling in the Community
- Hosting a Nativity Scene Display
- Organizing a Christmas Food and Toy Drive
- Christmas Storytelling Event
- Arranging a Christmas Craft Fair
Christmas Caroling in the Community
Christmas caroling is a festive way to bring the Christmas Spirit into your community. Arrange for a small church group to dress up and visit local nursing homes and sing Christmas carols for the residents. Or, print the lyrics, bring candles, decide on a place to meet up, and go door to door. Encourage everyone to sing along.
When going to nursing homes, I recommend singing those good old hymns that most don’t hear anymore. They will be most appreciative.
Hosting A Nativity Scene Display
Hosting a Nativity Scene Display is a wonderful Christmas outreach idea that can engage the community and share the story of the birth of Jesus. Design invitations or promotional materials to distribute within the community. Include details such as the location, date, and purpose. Your scene could be wooden, plastic, or a Living Nativity with live characters.
Organizing a Christmas Food and Toy Drive
Planning a Christmas food and toy drive is a perfect Christmas outreach idea for churches. Create flyers and have the youth group hand them out in the community. Organize a specific area in the church where members of the congregation and people in the community can drop off food and toys.
Many churches host an Angel Tree, which is where paper angel ornaments are hung on the tree with suggested gifts for a needy family or ministry that delivers gifts.
Christmas Storytelling Event
Organizing a Christmas Storytelling Event can be an engaging way to share the message of Christmas with your community. Stories are inspiring, and there isn’t a more inspiring story than the story of Jesus, who is the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.
A Christmas storytelling event provides a meaningful way to connect with the community, share the joy of the season, and convey the spiritual significance of Christmas.
Arranging a Christmas Craft Fair
A Christmas Craft Fair is a great outreach event. Booths or tables are set up where people sell their crafts and homemade food items. Your women’s ministry can to invite their family, friends, and neighbors to join the fun. Venders can be church members or they can be other people from the community who are invited in.
Engaging Kids and Families
Engaging kids and families in Christmas outreach activities can be fun and impactful. Here are some ideas to involve children and families in spreading joy and making a positive impact during the holiday season.
- Family-Friendly Christmas Movie Night
- Cookie Decorating Event
- Advent Calendar with Daily Activities
- Christmas Card Making for Nursing Homes
Family-Friendly Christmas Movie Night
Who doesn’t love Home Alone, Elf, A Charlie Brown Christmas, or The Grinch? Hosting a family-friendly Christmas movie night at your church is a wonderful way to involve and engage the kids during the holiday season.
Cookie Decorating Event
Have kids from the congregation invite their friends and classmates from school to decorate Christmas cookies to take home to their families, or to give away.
Advent Calendar with Daily Activities
Creating an Advent Calendar with daily activities for Christmas outreach in churches is a wonderful way to engage the community and foster a sense of togetherness during the Advent season. Incorporate spiritual reflections and acts of kindness.
Christmas Card Making for Nursing Homes
Have the kids make Christmas cards at home or during Sunday school, and find a time to meet at a local nursing home to give them to the residents. This may be the only card some residents will receive, and they will be sure to make their Christmas special.
Youth and Teen Involvement
Involving youth and teens in Christmas outreach activities not only provides youth with opportunities to give back to the community but also helps instill a sense of empathy and community service. ConnectUs lists 50 ideas to engage youth and teens in Christmas outreach.
Just a few ideas for teenagers and young adults include:
- Youth Group Service Projects
- Christmas Concert Organized by Teens
- Reverse Advent Calendar Initiative
- Community Nativity Walk
- Virtual Christmas Concert for Youth
Christmas Charity and Goodwill Initiatives
Here are some charity and goodwill initiatives anyone can incorporate into their Christmas outreach. These are suitable for families, businesses, teams, neighborhoods, friends, and any group that wants to help others in need.
- Angel Tree Program for Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Senior Care Packages Assembly
- Homeless Outreach During the Holidays
- Winter Clothing Drive for the Homeless
- Christmas Hamper Program for Low-Income Families
Angel Tree Program for Children of Incarcerated Parents
Angel Tree Prison Fellowship is a program that reaches out to children of incarcerated parents with the love of Christ. Angel Tree equips churches with the resources needed to help strengthen these families physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Senior Care Packages Assembly
Companies such as Spoonful of Comfort and Amazon prepare care packages for the elderly that you can order and have sent to care facilities, or you could make your own care packages and deliver them to nursing homes. They usually contain things like soup, Christmas cookies, blankets, or anything that would help them to feel the joy of Christmas.
Homeless Outreach During the Holidays
According to USA Today 582,000 people were without a home in 2022, and that number only seems to be increasing. Consider volunteering at a homeless shelter, delivering food and blankets at Christmas time, or just visiting with them. Help them to know the hope of Christ.
Winter Clothing Drive for the Homeless
Donating to a winter clothing drive such as One Warm Coat can help many people during the Winter months. And you can always start one of your own at your local church or school. Bring people together for a good cause and make Christmas special for everyone involved.
Business and Community Outreach
Engaging businesses in community outreach during Christmas can create a positive impact and foster a sense of corporate social responsibility. Many companies in your community will be willing to help out. Here are some ideas for business and community outreach activities for Christmas.
- Collaborating with Local Businesses for Charity Events
- Community Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
- Letters to Troops Overseas
- Christmas Bazaar for Charity
- Christmas Tree Recycling Program
Collaborating with Local Businesses for Charity Events
Determine what kind of charity event you would like to hold and ask local businesses for donations. Do you want to give away toys, food, money?
Build a good relationship with the businesses you work with and show appreciation. Do you need space for the event? Space may be something that the business you choose to work with can provide.
In most cases, businesses want to help. They may have funds set aside for docnations as part of their annual budget, and they appreciate the ways you will promote their business as a way of offering free marketing.
Other ideas for business outreach include a community tree lighting ceremony, organizing the writing of letters to troops overseas, hosting a Christmas bazaar, or a Christmas tree recycling program.
Ministry and Evangelism Ideas
Christmas is a significant time for evangelism, as it provides an opportunity to share the message of hope and love associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. Here are 5 ideas for Christmas outreach focusing on ministry and evangelism.
- Hosting a Living Nativity Scene can be a lot of work to plan, organize, and execute. Still, it is beneficial because it’s inspiring for the ministry and the community to see the emotional story of Christmas.
- Christmas Story Play or Pageant – Emphase the message of hope that Christmas brings by acting out the Christmas Story. Ministry-to-Children.com has free plays for children available.
- Christmas Care Calls to Isolated Individuals – Minister to those who cannot get out and celebrate the season with others. Go to them and show them that you care. Jesus included everyone.
- Volunteer Opportunities Coordination – As a ministry, coordinate opportunities for people in the ministry to volunteer. If you’re a large ministry, VolunteerMark is a web-based business that helps with everything from planning, recruiting, and marketing.
- Hosting a Christmas Service for Families – Host a Christmas service and invite community members as a ministry event.
Special Focus on Small and Rural Churches
Small and rural churches have unique characteristics and challenges but can still have impactful and meaningful Christmas outreach initiatives. Small Church Ministry suggests helpful ways small churches can serve their community.
4 Easy-to-Implement Ideas for Christmas Outreach for Small Churches
Small Church Ministry suggests these ministry ideas for smaller congregations.
- Serve free hot cocoa and apple cider in front of a store downtown.
- Coins & Conversation is where a team of people from your church, equipped with bags of quarters, ventures out to laundromats and apartment complexes to show love by paying for washers and dryers to run and spread good cheer.
- Free Babysitting for a parents’ night out (ideal for parents who need to do last-minute shopping and wrapping.)
- Free Gift Wrapping – Host a free gift-wrapping event for your community.
Whether you choose to go out caroling or to volunteer at a homeless shelter, your outreach is needed and will be appreciated because there are so many people who will benefit your kindness.
Please comment below to let us know which ideas you’ve tried. We’d love to hear from you.
Leave a Reply