Christmas is just around the corner. As I'm typing this, we are only 22 days away.

Christmas is one of the best times of the year to reach kids and families and grow your ministry.

Over the years, I've used several ideas to do this. Here are some of them.

Gift Giveaway. In one ministry I served in, we had lots of kids coming to church without their parents.

We decided to try and reach some of these kids' parents. People in the church donated lots of great presents. We shared with the kids who came without their parents that if they brought their parents with them to the service on Christmas Sunday, after the service, they could go with their parents and pick out one of the presents.

Eighty-two first-time guest parents came to church that Sunday. We saw many of them come to Christ and become involved in the church.

Christmas Family Experience. Families are looking for something to do together around Christmas time. We created a family experience that kids and parents could enjoy together. It featured a family show called "Who's This All About?" It was about the Grinch finding the true meaning of Christmas.

After the show, we had craft tables, hot chocolate, cookies and so on that kids and families could enjoy together. The script for the family show is available at this link and can be adapted to any size church. We had over 4,000 kids and parents show up for it.

Picture Spots. Parents will stand in long lines for their children to take a picture with Santa or other Christmas characters. You can set up picture spots with Christmas background for family pictures. You can also have costumed characters kids and families can take pictures with.

Christmas Lesson. I created a special Christmas lesson for the Sunday before Christmas. It tells the story about a boy who learns what it means to give at Christmas. It comes with videos, lesson plan, graphic and more. It can be used on Sunday morning for a Christmas large group session, small group session, Wed. night class and so on. You can get more information at this link. It's available as an instant download.

Birthday Party for Jesus. This is a great way to teach kids about Jesus' birth. Have a party for Jesus and have kids bring him a gift (offering) for Christmas.

Your turn. What are some other Christmas events, activities or programs you have experienced during the Christmas season? Share your thoughts, ideas an insights in the comment section below.

Dale Hudson has been in children's ministry for over 27 years. He is the director of children's ministry at Christ Fellowship Church in South Florida. Christ Fellowship has nine campuses and ministers to over 25,000 people on weekends. Dale leads a children's ministry staff team of over 70 and a volunteer team of over 2,600. He has authored 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Children's Ministry, 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Preschool Ministry, Children's Ministry in the 21st Century, Sunday School That Works, the churchleaders.com Top 100 book, and If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry. You can find more of his helpful resources at relevantchildrensministry.com or buildingchildrensministry.com.

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