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Outreach for Dec. 24 influences January attendance

“(The yard signs) help get the word out to the public,” said the Rev. Samuel Hunnicutt, pastor. “But it also gives those people who take the signs home a sense of mission, like, ‘I’m part of this. We’re going to help get the word out.’”
Last year, Hunnicutt said, the church saw a good Christmas Eve attendance. People traveled from surrounding communities to participate. A couple even joined the church on Christmas Eve.
And Hunnicutt said he thinks Home for Christmas efforts influenced church attendance in the weeks following Christmas.
“For the community (the campaign) gets the word out that there’s a United Methodist church in their community that is interested in them, cares about them and is offering Christ to all,” Hunnicutt said.
“For the congregation, it reminds members and helps clarify for them that they have a mission and responsibility before Christ to spread the word, not only about their church but about the good news of Jesus Christ. And for those who may be reticent or lack confidence, this gives them a venue for sharing.”
Leaders of Christ UMC, Stockdale, have asked members to provide names and addresses of people they would want to invite to the Christmas Eve service, said Sandi Luksik, evangelism chair. The church plans to mail invitations and follow up with guests.
Two Christmas Eve services probably will be offered, Luksik added, but plans still are being solidified.
A cookies-and-punch reception in the fellowship hall of the 190-member church is to follow the Christmas Eve service, she said.
The Home for Christmas campaign seemed like “a good place to start” for a church that just began its evangelism committee, Luksik said. The committee plans to invite visitors back to church in the weeks following Christmas Eve.
“We’re hoping that we can get more community involvement (in the church),” Luksik said.
First UMC, Austin, is to participate in the Home for Christmas campaign for the first time, said Jen Stuart, director of membership.
She said the Home for Christmas campaign was mentioned in a conference she and her pastor attended in The Woodlands. The outreach approach seemed like a good idea for the church.
The 2,157-member congregation is to place announcements on KUT, an Austin public radio station. The church plans five Christmas Eve services.
“What we’re hoping is that (participation in the campaign) will increase the visibility of The United Methodist Church here in Austin,” Stuart said. “We’re hoping to have more visitors on Christmas Eve. And we’re doing things to make sure that the guests who come will feel welcome.”
The Board of Discipleship has sponsored the Home for Christmas outreach campaign since 2000. Campaign plans are detailed in a 146-page Igniting Ministry Campaign Workbook for the Southwest Texas Conference. The Communications and Public Witness Office prepared the book in 2002.
Home for Christmas is one way the Southwest Texas Conference tries to empower ministries in local congregations so they can offer Christ to all.