Give Your Sunday School Christmas Parties International Flavor

Written by David Francis

Editor's note: In what may be a first for LifeWay – or anywhere else for that matter – this month's article by David Francis was written entirely on a BlackBerry!® Hats off to David for his amazing thumb-typing skills.

Compelled by Love

What in the world (pun intended!) do Sunday School class Christmas parties and international missions have in common? In most classes, the answer is, "Usually nothing." But your class can change that, if you'll start planning for it early. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Raise money for Lottie. The most memorable Christmas party my wife and I ever attended was with a 40-somethings department that conducted an auction to benefit the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Each of the men brought a homemade tree ornament to be auctioned off. It was great fun! We still hang the glittery 3.5" computer diskette on our tree. It cost me $100! But imagine what that contribution meant to a missionary on the field.

Tell Lottie's Story. In the party mentioned above, Rick the auctioneer would prompt higher bids by exhorting, "It's for Lottie!" After the auction, one of the group of folks from a non-SBC background asked, "That was fun, but who is this Lottie?" Why not use your party to tell the inspirational story of Lottie Moon's sacrificial life of missions in China? You can find all you need to know at the IMB's web site.

Identify with a UPG. Use the Christmas party as the kickoff for the class to adopt an Unreached People Group. Once again, the IMB's web site has detailed instructions on how to do this. For the party, consider using what you learn about your UPG to provide ideas for decorations, food, activities, or at least prayer.

Emphasize missions in North Africa. Here's an alternate idea to adopting a UPG. The emphasis for the 2009 International Missions study is missions in North Africa, specifically the Berber people. Study materials, promotional materials, inspirational DVDs, etc. are available at from the Woman's Missionary Union. Fair-trade gift items are available at
www.worldcraftsvillage.com.

Don't forget to invite your missionaries to kids! Be sure to include your associate members, the folks you've released and blessed from your class to serve in preschool, children, and student classes! They're not serving in a foreign land, but sometimes they feel like it. Celebrate their service to teach kids about Jesus. Remember, he came to our planet as a kid, Himself. And His commission can be your class' reason to celebrate this season together.

David Francis is LifeWay's director of Sunday School. His latest book is Connect3 - The Power of One Sunday School Class. This is the fourth installment in the 3D Sunday School series following I-6 Invite: A Six-Lane Strategy toward an Inviting Sunday School and The Discover Triad: Three Facets of a Dynamic Sunday School Class. David has previously served as Minister of Education at First Baptist Church, Garland Texas, and currently teaches a preschool class on Sunday mornings.

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