If there is one time in the year when it’s “easy” to invite friends and family to church, it’s Christmas. 

There is no other time in the year when people get as excited for something that they don’t fully understand! Apart, maybe, from people who claim to really understand what’s going on in a cricket game (pardon my Swiss-ness). 

Unless your friend is named Ebenezer Scrooge and believes that “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas,’ on his lips, should be boiled in his own pudding”, you can probably assume that they are at least mildly open to the idea of celebrating Christmas in some ways. 

And even Scrooge, by the end of Dickens’ novel, finishes by saying “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year”. 

So here are a few reasons why I believe that it’s worth taking the risk of inviting your loved ones and neighbors to one of our Carols services or Christmas services (or all of them): 

1. Don’t assume what people may believe about Christmas and the church 

If there is something that I have discovered for myself with my non-Christian friends and relatives, it is that they are, more often than not, surprisingly open to coming to those kinds of special occasions. 

Christmas is a Christian holiday, and although our culture has done a pretty good job at erasing its origin, most people still know that it’s not just about Santa. Carols are almost as popular inside as outside the church, and people love to sing them or, at least, listen to them. 

2. We need hope 

We need hope. And this need is more present today than it was a few years ago. After the bushfires, COVID, the floods, the Ukrainian situation, and climate change, the current Zeitgeist is not as optimistic as it used to be. On top of that, our communities are not as tight as they used to be, and loneliness and social isolation are growing concerns in Australia.¹ 

And what better hope can be offered than Christmas? 

To understand that God became man so that we can live with the hope of the renewal of all things is the best news of all. This is a hope that everyone desperately needs. 

3. People are seeking 

A lot of signs are pointing towards a new openness and a regain of interest in Christianity in Australia. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) in the UK has noted an 87% increase in purchases of the Bible between 2019 and 2024². We don’t have the data for Australia just yet, but there is no reason to think that the situation would be widely different here. 

If only 30.6% of Gen X (25-39yrs) identify as Christians in Australia in 2021, the percentage goes up to 39% for Gen Z (10-24yrs)³. There might be a few different factors to explain that change, but it does indicate a shift in the younger generation’s relationship to religion. 

4. Traditions are cool again 

As much as some of us might be a bit wary about “traditions” and “rituals”, by just scrolling through social media or flicking through magazines and online journals, it is quite evident that they are making a comeback. 

A lot of people yearn for a sense of rootedness in a world that feels so transient. Many seek cultural and spiritual connection in a society where loneliness is an epidemic. 

We all long for a big story that makes sense of the world we live in, and people might look at different traditions. But we have a story that is close to none. And Christmas traditions are a great opportunity to point people to Jesus. 

So, as you take time to think about who you will invite to the Carols, the Christmas services, or your own family party, I would like to encourage you to pray for your friends, relatives, and neighbors. Remember that God’s ways are beyond what we can explain, control, or even hope for. He is the one who saves and gathers people to Himself. And we would be fools to believe that Christmas is so 1843 that people are beyond its good news and the hope that it offers. 

Let us rejoice that God became flesh, that in Him we are saved for the best life that there is to live, and pray for all those who don’t understand the real nature of Christmas that they will one day be able to say, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year”, or rather “I will honour Christ in my heart, and follow him all the way”! 

PS: if you want to hear more about the quiet revival happening in the UK at the moment, I recommend listening to this https://publicchristianity.org/podcast/losing-my-irreligion/ 

Benji Vaytet
Community Pastor