Is your church doing a Christmas play? Hosting a church-wide party? Inviting all of the couples to a Christmas reception? Holding a Christmas Eve service? I hope you are doing at least one or two of these things. Christmas is a time for celebration! But as you go about your usual holiday festivities, let me challenge you to think about where your focus is this Christmas…

Are you simply focused on celebrating the season with your members and regular attenders? Or are you making the most of the opportunity Christmas gives you to reach those who are not yet Christians?

For the rest of this week, I will be giving you some ideas on how to reach out to your community this Christmas season, how to treat the guests who visit your church for the first time and how to follow up with them after the fact to make sure they keep coming back in 2009.

For now, let me challenge you to think about this question… How can I ensure that my church stays outwardly-focused this Christmas season?

You’ve probably heard me discuss the importance of making sure that your church is and remains an outwardly-focused church. In case you aren’t familiar with the concept, an outwardly-focused church is one that makes an intentional effort to keep its energy and focus on the people who need Jesus outside its doors. The outwardly-focused church realizes that it is all-too easy to become consumed with the concerns of its members and regular attenders to the exclusion of reaching new people, so it protects itself from allowing that to happen.

People are more likely to visit your church around Christmas than any other time of the year (except maybe Easter). If you take some steps now to make sure you are focused on reaching those newcomers, you can pave the way for them to meet Jesus as we celebrate his birth.

Spend some time today thinking about where you’ve been focusing your energy… and then check back tomorrow! I’ll be giving you a great tip on how you can get even more first-time guests than usual to your Christmas service.

– Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.