The season of Christmas lends itself to evangelism. Nativity scenes draw the eye and mind to a baby born in a manger and beg the lost to ask why He came. Outside the United States, many students have left campus to head home for winter break. This leaves little opportunity to plan ministry events around this missional holiday. Because Campus Outreach partners with local churches, various ministries are inviting any students still in town to attend church events, such as a brunch in New Zealand or a special service in Thailand.
Staff members also find ways to minister individually to students during this season.
Josh and Liz Martin moved this year and work with Campus Outreach in Dunedin, New Zealand. They love opening their home and showing hospitality. Recently, they have felt settled enough to have large groups of students in their home. Liz wrote this week to share how they wove the “reason for the season” throughout the night:
“Josh’s family has a tradition of cooking a HUGE pot of soup on Christmas Day. They open their home to anyone who doesn’t have family nearby. Josh cooked a massive pot of gnocchi soup and shared that story with our guests.
My family has a tradition of opening Christmas crackers and wearing the hats that come with them throughout dinner. We shared that story, popped the crackers, and wore the hats all evening.”
The Martins have a tradition of reading a book every Advent season.
The Martins have a tradition of reading through John Piper’s Good News of Great Joy every Advent season. They shared that tradition with the students and read one of the devotionals around the table. (You can read it here.)
They also took turns reading about the birth of Jesus in Luke 2 and imagined what it would have been like to be a shepherd that night. They contemplated what it would have been like to have angels startle them and share that the long-awaited Messiah had arrived. There was discussion about how people can so quickly move past the significance of this story, and how they want to avoid doing that this year. Everyone felt challenged to share the joyful news of Jesus’ birth with people around them. The night overflowed with chats, laughter, arm wrestling, deep discussions, carols, and lingering around cars for further conversation.
Liz shared that it was a joy to welcome students into her home (including three new young men, whooo!!). Unprompted, a student told her the next morning, ‘Last night was really lovely. We should do things like that more often.’”
Such a simple evening with the potential for an eternal impact. We encourage you to take a moment to stop and pray for those who attended dinner at the Martins. While you are at it, why not ask the Lord who YOU can have in your home and which Christmas tradition you’ll share!
Encourage someone you know by sharing this story with them.
Please direct them to the blog or click here to print a copy of the story to share!