10 Ways to Support a Missionary this Christmas
If you are considering sending a package for this Christmas,it is important to communicate to the people of the host…
For many missionaries, the Christmas season is full of opportunities to share the Gospel with people in their community. While the holidays bring many joyful activities, they can also magnify feelings of homesickness for some missionaries. We’ve put together a list of 10 unique ways to give your missionaries support this Christmas.
1. Add them to your Christmas card list.
As you address your Christmas cards, be sure to include the missionary families you know. This keeps them connected with your family and lets them know you are thinking about them this holiday season!
TIP: Ask your missionary or their contact the best way to get cards and packages to them. While many countries can receive mail from the U.S., mail service isn’t reliable in some countries. Always be mindful of security concerns (such as words you can and can’t say in a letter or email) for countries that aren’t friendly to Christian workers.
2. Learn about their culture’s holiday traditions.
Send an email with “Merry Christmas” in the missionary’s new language, or bake a holiday goody from the missionary’s field. Let them know that, even with the distance, they are still an important part of your holidays.
3. Involve your kids.
Scott Andrews, a TEAM missionary in Prague, says, “Some of our friends, supporters and churches have had their kids make drawings for us and send them. They are proudly plastered to our walls and continually give us joy.”
You can involve your church’s children’s ministry in the holiday cheer, too. Last Christmas, missionaries in Japan were surprised to receive a virtual concert from children at their church who sang Silent Night in English and Japanese.
4. Send a taste of home.
Some familiar baking essentials aren’t easily available in other countries. Care packages with holiday goodies can help a missionary family carry on Christmas traditions in their new home. To find out the top nine things your missionary wants in a care package, check out this post.
5. Pray for new opportunities to evangelize.
More people will hear about Jesus during the Advent season than any other time of the year. Many people in other countries are curious about Christmas traditions and the meaning behind the holiday. This opens the door for many evangelistic conversations. Pray for the missionaries engaging in these conversations and the people hearing them.
Click here to download a short guide with more ways to pray for missionaries at Christmas. Make copies for you church bulletin or use it as a bookmark in your Bible as a reminder to pray.
6. Include them in your party.
Christmas brings parties and events with family and friends. While you celebrate, film a simple video on your phone telling a missionary “Merry Christmas.” For those in places where the internet isn’t easily accessible, have your party-goers sign a card or a picture. Letting missionaries know they are still included in your group and not forgotten is a special way to give a missionary support at Christmas.
7. Record and share your Christmas Eve service.
It can be hard for missionaries to miss beloved Christmas traditions at their home churches, too. Consider asking your church to record special Christmas concerts, plays or services. If your church livestreams their services, send your missionary a link so he or she can worship with you.
8. Consider the missionary kids in your community.
Many missionary children come back to North America for college and find themselves without a place to go for the holidays. Consider inviting them to join your celebrations this Christmas. The holidays can be difficult when your family is a continent away, but your invitation could help missionary kids feel more at home.
9. Share encouraging books and blogs.
On the mission field, it can be hard to find ways to grow spiritually, especially in areas without a Christian community. If you find a great blog or book your missionary might enjoy, send it their way and pray the Lord uses it to encourage them.
10. Make their Christmas wish come true!
Missionaries’ needs often stretch beyond their regular support — they need money for discipleship materials, supplies for the Lord’s Supper, transportation for volunteers and much more. Ask your missionary friends what needs you can give toward. Most likely, they’ll have an idea on the tip of their tongue. And your gift might be one of the most meaningful they receive this year!
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Do you have any ways you send your missionary support and extra love around the holidays? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!
As a retiree of SEND.org
I share your wish too.
I wish many would spend time in texting their missionary their church support.
Adopt a MK they missed their parents on mission field.
Thank you for serving with SEND! Texting is also a great idea; it is amazing how small technology has made the world!
its good you’ve shared this it will help missionaries in different parts of. the world
Thanks for reading, Shadrack!
Thank you for the numerous practical ways you’ve suggested.
Recently I spent a few months in a country that my wife and I considered moving to for retirement.
It was way out of our “comfort” zone – heat, language issues, cultural issues, food issues etc.
We decided it wasn’t for us.
But it really made me aware of those who “go” for missionary reasons and not retirement.
It was very humbling to think about those who hang in there – and their children as well.
My experience – combined with your article – will make me able to be of service to a number of missionaries in 2016 that would have just been “family pictures” on our missionary map at church.
Thank you very much!
John Palma
Hi John! Thanks for reading, and for sharing your honest comments. It’s so true that many missionaries around the world are living in vastly different circumstances than what we’re used to. It definitely makes us appreciate them even more! Hope you have the chance to reach out to some missionaries this year and send them some encouragement! Blessings to you!
Thanks for this article. As missionaries, and miles away from home in a foreign land, we were blessed with one of your suggestions. That was a blessing. We reeived phone calls from close family members. We have a stateside number and no one calls. There is something about the newness of being a missionary that eventually grows old. Thanks again for your article.
Hi Doug and Diane! What a nice gesture. I’m sure it meant a lot to your family members as well. Thanks for reading!
This keeps them connected with your family and lets them know you are thinking about them this holiday season! Where such information?
Thanks for this article. I am relizing to encourage some missionaries in our locality. As they are working in different places and culture. Thanking For your sharing
If you are considering sending a package make sure you check with the missionary first. Some countries charge high customs on items. The missionary may have to pay more in customs than the item is worth to them. Also, you may send something readily available in the country where the missionary is serving and you end up paying a high shipping amount and the missionary may end up paying customs as well. I speak as a former missionary in West Africa who also has a son and family who are serving in Papua New Guinea.
So true, Mark. Thanks for this reminder to keep that in mind before sending a package!
If you are considering sending a package for this Christmas,it is important to communicate to the people of the host country especially this time that you programmed to be going for missions. This encourages the newly expected country you will carry missionary activities in it, and they will have a great zeal for the missionary work. Some countries like Uganda have charge high customs on items. The missionary may have to pay more in customs than the item is worth to them. Also, you may send something readily available in the country where the missionary is serving and you end up paying a high shipping amount and the missionary may end up paying customs as well.For sure gifts sending keeps missionaries connected with our family and lets them know you are thinking about them this holiday season!