Being Enthusiastically Evangelistic this Christmas
Are you excited about Christmas?…Jonathan Carswell has already started listening to Christmas music!
What is it that excites you?
The chance for a break from work?
Time with the family?
Watching loved ones opening their presents?
The permission to eat delicious foods and chocolate?
The incredible news of God humbling himself to be born as a baby for us?
Perhaps it’s all of the above, but we sometimes struggle to be openly enthusiastic about our faith in front of our non-Christian friends and family.
Do we feel a little awkward, or worried we will put people off, or push them away if we share with them our love for God, and what He has done?
As we start to see the supermarkets lined with Christmas items, let’s consider how our enthusiasm for the season can be used for God’s glory.
Our good friend Jeremy Marshall, now in glory, in his book Scattering Seeds of Hope, wrote about the power of enthusiasm:
"I love Watford FC and, given the chance, I will be there at Vicarage Road cheering them on. My sisters aren’t big football fans, but they’ll come along to keep me company. Or if you don’t like football, then think of a great restaurant you’ve been to recently or a fantastic box set you’ve enjoyed. It is just so natural to enthuse about those kinds of things to other people. Being enthusiastic about something comes easily when you have experienced something good. Take the restaurant. ‘That place is amazing,’ you say, ‘Superb food. The main course was delicious. The setting was stunning and it was excellent value for money. I’m definitely going back.’
Somehow, when we’re talking about Christ, we can often sound less than enthusiastic. Why is that? Let me suggest two reasons…
The first is that it’s easy to be a bit tepid when it comes to Christ. A bit like a mug of lukewarm tea. We don’t experience enough of him – and I certainly include myself here – and so we don’t talk about him with enthusiasm. He is like an ‘OK’ restaurant which we are very familiar with, but which isn’t much better than any other restaurant. It’s fine – but don’t go out of your way to go there. We can sometimes feel a bit half-hearted about Jesus, if we’re honest. (As the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3 found out, that is a dangerous position to be in.) We don’t talk about him much because we don’t feel much. No one enthuses about a so-so restaurant or the disappointing box set.
But there is another thing. If you go on about a fabulous restaurant or a box set, nobody is going to mind. Even if you recommend a Japanese restaurant and your friend replies, ‘Oh I really don’t like sushi,’ no offence is taken. But in our highly pluralistic society, to recommend Christ is to risk causing offence. And most of us don’t like doing that.
The answer, of course, is to go deeper into Christ, to know him more, to love him more. To taste and see that he is good. Then we will have something we want to talk about.
And don’t worry about getting carried away – we can always check in with the person we’re talking to and check we are not offending them. ‘Would you mind if I told you about...?’ or ‘Please tell me if I offend you by going on too much about Jesus.’ "
So this Christmas can you throw off the things that hinder you in being enthusiastic for Christ?
Some simple ideas for being enthusiastically evangelistic :
When asked what you’re looking forward to by your work colleagues, could you take the opportunity to say why Christmas is so significant for Christians? Jesus willingly becoming human, to eventually die in our place. What a thing to celebrate!
Could you share a Bible verse with your Facebook friends, or in a WhatsApp group?
Send a Biblical Christmas card alongside an evangelistic tract or book
Invite friends and colleagues along to church to celebrate at your services.
Give a colleague or friend an evangelistic book (plus a sweet treat!) Then follow up in the coming weeks to see what they thought of it
Perhaps you could venture into your local town or city with some evangelistic resources and share your enthusiasm for Jesus there - not everyone has a close Christian friend or family member to share with them.
Get involved with your church's evangelistic service, and make a point of welcoming a stranger enthusiastically?
Enthusiasm looks different to each of us, but when we are genuine with those around us, it really does make an impact. Let’s go into this Christmas season with enthusiasm for what it truly represents, and seek to point people to the source of our hope and joy, Jesus!
Sign up for our Point to Jesus Webinar for more ideas about reaching out this Christmas
