"We were inspired by God's precious gift of Jesus to reduce spending on ourselves, so leaving more valuable resources to give to those with nothing."
Help transform the lives of children in Kisumu, Kenya
SIMPLE CHANGES
To change the world at Christmas every year we worry about the increasing commercialisation of Christmas, but what can we do to change things?
In 2007, a group from Morningside Baptist Church felt deeply challenged after visiting projects run by Operation Mobilisation among the Dalit people in India. On returning home to Edinburgh, they were inspired to launch the Just Christmas initiative in their church. The plan was simple: to change culture, change hearts and restore the true meaning of Christmas. To do this, church members thought of many simple, kind and generous acts to give to family and friends in place of presents. They were then free to give the money that would have been spent on the trappings of Christmas to support those in greatest need around the world.
"We were inspired by God’s precious gift of Jesus to reduce spending on ourselves, so leaving more valuable resources to give to those with nothing"
Through Just Christmas in 2007 and 2008, Morningside Baptist Church have raised an amazing total sum of £110,000 – enough to build 2 schools for Dalit children in India and support an AIDS project in Africa. Individuals in the church also went on to sponsor the education of 160 Dalit children!
TAKING UP THE CHALLENGE
At St Paul's & St George's Church in Edinburgh, we have been inspired by the Just Christmas concept developed by MBC, and have adopted it as a major focus for Christmas 2009. We hope that the church family will be inspired to "Do Christmas Differently".
Over the past 2 years we have been struck by the many needs and issues in Kenya. Several groups from our church have visited Kisumu and have been inspired by the work which World Vision are doing there. We have now adopted World Vision as one of our mission partners and this year we hope that by spending less on ourselves we can spend more on the huge needs that exist in Kisumu, and other organisations/ projects we as individuals and groups are already committed to. This giving will be in addition to our committed regular giving to P's & G's and to our mission partners.
So why not start today by committing individually and as a church to take up our Just Christmas initiative. Encourage family and friends to join you in celebrating the most meaningful and generous Christmas you’ve ever experienced!
