By Daniel Im: We all tend to spend our holidays in different ways. Some of us spend it with our families, others alone. Some with big Turkey feasts and others with mac and cheese or bbq chicken from the grocery store. However, the one thing that stays constant throughout the holiday season is our need for community.
Although this may be a pretty funny picture of me sitting all alone, and not being a part of the party, this is how a lot of people feel throughout the Christmas holidays. In fact, for some of your small group members, your group may really be the only family they have in town.
So here is a brief list of suggestions for your group to continue to grow through community over the holidays. Feel free to consider one, two, none, or all of them.
- Have a big holiday/Christmas potluck. (I’ve already heard of two of our groups doing this – one having a potluck, and the other having a turkey)
- Visit a nearby coffee shop after one of the weekend services and just catch up with each other.
- Continue to share prayer requests via email, phone, or any other possible means on a regular basis.
- Identify those in your group who don’t have family in town and invite them to your home for a meal on Christmas.
- Go shopping together on Boxing Day.
- Have a New Years Party together.
I pray that over this Christmas holiday, God would grant you such a time of rest, rejuvenation, and strength. I pray that God would shower his abundant blessings upon you and that you would once again be captivated by the beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ.