Monday, December 5, 2011

Christmas at Citychurch















As I write this, snow is blanketing the ground outside.  Thankfully today we are in the office preparing for the Christmas Box ministry, which will carry us through December, and then a special night of ministry we have planned for next Wednesday night.  Also during this time, we have the Good Shepherd Offering.  Go to our website to  learn more about it.  The Good Shepherd Offering.



The Christmas Gift Boxes are a tool used by Citychurch to express God's love.  Gift giving is a reality most of our families don't get to take part in.  The parents are doing good just to keep their family in a house, they struggle to provide food and clothing, so buying gifts for their kids is low on the priority list.  We have ministered to these kids all year long, and over that time, we have come to know them really well.  We know their sizes for clothing and everything they are interested in.  Yearlong we collects toys, clothes, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, books, arts and crafts and several other items.  Then during December we package Christmas Gift Boxes filled with everything we can stuff in them!  Because of how well we know the kids, we are able to personalize every gift with the kids that are receiving it!  We do everything we can to make them feel special.  Just like God does with us.


Next Wednesday, December 14, we will bring the kids and youth in to provide a night of good Christmas fun.  Growing up in the country, with a really close family, one of the best things I remember about Christmas wasn't the gifts, but the special time spent with family and it all started the day after Thanksgiving.  I remember several evenings between then and Christmas morning, watching Christmas specials, making homemade ornaments, drinking hot cocoa and decorating the tree.  Sadly most of the kids will not have such an experience, so we are going to provide that for them.  We have a night planned of baking cookies, drinking hot cocoa, making homemade decorations they can take home with them, singing Christmas carols, and of course sharing the Gospel and loving Jesus.  The church will be their family!

King Solomon speaks of seeking out the work of man and finding it vanity and vexation of spirit (Ecclesisastes 1:14).  In other words, the work we subject ourselves too is fruitless and like chasing the wind.  It's the work of sharing Christ that bears fruit.  We can pile gifts on these kids, and stuff them full of the fanciest foods every 4 hours, it could be endless, but we are not in the business of being fruitless or chasing the wind.  Knowing that Christ is the hope for EVERYONE, we use every thing we give, food, gas, clothes or toys as an opportunity to share the hope we have in Jesus.  The result in this work Citychurch is involved in is by no means fruitless.  Everyday we witness God changing the lives of the kids and families that are involved with Citychurch.


Sunday morning during church is the greatest proof of the fruitfulness of this work.  We see the families of the kids we minister to come in and worship wholeheartedly, in love with God.  He is providing for His church and the families He loves and they are responding back to Him!

If you would like to help in this wonderful ministry, your effort will not be in vain.  You can come and help package a personalized gift box, be apart of delivering the gifts to their homes, or come next Wednesday and help us have a family Christmas party with the kids!  We thank everyone for their support and prayers.  We thank you for the love of the kids, and the help in expressing God's love for them!

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Jeremy (follow me on twitter @tendingfigs)


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