Below is an example of how you can encourage your congregation to use the unique opportunities of the season to build relationships outside of your church community.
What do you do when you receive an ugly ornament, fruitcake, or gift you don’t want? What do you do when you have no time to buy someone a gift? You re-gift, of course! Most of us would confess that we have either been on the giving end or receiving end of re-gifting. But what if re-gifting could be a positive thing? What if instead of re-gifting what we don’t want, we re-gifted what we do?
The season of Advent is a season of preparation. As Advent begins, we prepare to receive God’s giving of the greatest gift of all time, but that’s only the beginning. Christ’s coming also passes on the gifts of hope, peace, joy, love, grace, redemption, and resurrection. But the gift-giving isn’t meant to end there. We, too, are called to join in God’s mission and Kingdom on earth, the one that Jesus started 2000 years ago and the one he has promised to finish. We are called to pass on what we have received (to “re-gift, if you will) so that others may get a glimpse of the love we have found in Jesus. It’s true- you have something to offer. And this Advent, it’s time to be intentional about it!
We invite you to join us in the Advent Bingo Challenge.
Download and/or print a bingo card for you or your family and see how many “gifts” you can pay forward to others. You might make the goal of completing one per day, or seeing how many times you can get Bingo (five in a row), or make the goal of completing the entire card by Christmas. Have fun with re-gifting these small acts of kindness, but also look for what God may do in your midst.
