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How Giving to Christ Can Transform Your Holiday Season

  • Dr. James Emery White Serioustimes.org
  • Updated Dec 02, 2024
How Giving to Christ Can Transform Your Holiday Season

What is the most important thing you can do this Christmas? There’s a long list to consider, to be sure. Let’s bracket off honoring the birth of Christ by watching or attending a church service to celebrate the event, as this should be a given. What else is there to consider? For many years, I’ve felt that the single-most important act of the holidays is to give to Christ at Christmas.  

Since 1994, those who attend Mecklenburg Community Church (Meck) have made it our mission to honor the gift God gave us in the birth of Jesus by beginning our gift-giving at Christmas with Him. This simple idea has become known as our annual “Giving to Christ at Christmas” effort. 

The idea was sparked for me when I saw this cartoon during the busyness of the holiday season and thought, “Wow… that’s what giving to Christ at Christmas really is all about.” Since that day, Meck comes together as a church to give the most generous gift we can – above and beyond our normal giving – as a direct gift to Christ Himself at Christmas to celebrate His birthday. The money is then used strategically for the work of His mission on Earth.  

Over the years, the gifts given through Giving to Christ at Christmas have allowed Meck to help rebuild orphanages and churches, supply relief to hurricane survivors in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, provide safe houses for children rescued from human trafficking, and help the working poor and unhoused neighbors in our city. Giving to Christ at Christmas has provided ongoing, strategic support to the building, development, and payment for our online and in-person campuses, freeing up our annual budget to serve the daily needs of ministry and outreach to thousands of families in our community.

Every year, we turn to God for leadership and discernment on where this gift should be invested.   

So once again,n this Christmas, I’ll do all I can to encourage people to give to Christ. That means I also want to encourage you to do the same through whatever local church you are a part of. I know that you are bombarded with requests to give to a number of causes over the holiday season. Many might be worthy, but most will not represent truly giving to Christ.

And that’s what Christmas is all about. 

James Emery White

Editor’s Note

This blog was first published in 2016 and shared annually during the Christmas season.

Photo Courtesy: ©Unsplash/Ben White

Published Date: December 2, 2024

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, is now available on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit churchandculture.org where you can view past blogs in our archive, read the latest church and culture news from around the world, and listen to the Church & Culture Podcast. Follow Dr. White on X, Facebook, and Instagram at @JamesEmeryWhite.