• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Recent Issues
      • July/August 2022July/August 2022
      • May/June 2022May/June 2022
      • March/April 2022March/April 2022
      • January/February 2022January/February 2022
      • November/December 2021November/December 2021
      • September/October 2021September/October 2021
      • More…
  • Authors
      • Stuart OlyottStuart Olyott
      • Tony BrownTony Brown
      • Katie HadleyKatie Hadley
      • Mandi ArcherMandi Archer
      • Wayne ProbertWayne Probert
      • Ceri DouglassCeri Douglass
      • Kerry OrchardKerry Orchard
      • Tom OlsonTom Olson
      • John SnyderJohn Snyder
      • Randy AlcornRandy Alcorn
      • More…
  • Sections
      • Bible
      • Church
      • Comment
      • Faith
      • History
      • Life
      • Mission
      • My story
      • Prayer
      • Remembering
      • Reviews
      • Theology
  • Subscribe

Christmas Wrapped Up

Matt LewisMatt Lewis3 minute readNovember/December 2017, page 28

Reaching the next generation

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that 95% of children across our nation don’t go to church. That bothers me. How else will they hear about the transforming power of God, or that God who loved them so much he sent his Son to die for them? How will they discover the hope a relationship with God offers for this life and beyond? How will we fulfil Psalm 78:4 – that ‘we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done’? How can we tell the next generation if 95% of them don’t come near us?

For the last 14 years, I’ve been grappling with that question as I worked for CCSW (Christian Council for Schools in Wales) and now Scripture Union Cymru.

Searching for opportunities

Often the answer is to engage with children in their school by taking assemblies, RE lessons, after-school clubs and Christian groups. But sometimes, it’s about finding opportunities for them to be brought to us!

And what better opportunity than Christmas? Primary schools are so busy with productions, special assemblies and parties, that they often value the opportunity for their children to be taught about Christmas from a Christian point of view by those who know it best – the Church!

That’s what ‘Christmas Wrapped Up’ is about. Over the last decade, about 25,000 Year 2 children have visited more than 100 different churches across Wales to learn about the importance of Christmas. They’ve interacted with puppets who talk about the nervous excitement Mary must have felt waiting for the birth of her son. They’ve acted out the Nativity, playing the parts of the shepherds, wise men and angels. They’ve made mince pies and Christmas cards, used literacy skills to re-tell the story, and even sung. As one teacher put it, ‘a whole term’s work in one afternoon’!

Sharing the good news

Most importantly, churches have told about the ‘praiseworthy deeds of the Lord’. They’ve shared how Jesus was no ordinary baby because he was God’s Son given that we might have eternal life. As one of the puppets tells the children, ‘If Jesus hadn’t come to earth, there’s no way we could have a friendship with God!’.

The response is always encouraging. Children leave the church with broad smiles, saying things like, ‘this is the bestest day of my life’, ‘this is better than the cinema’, and ‘I wish I could come here every day!’ Staff too, love the event. It’s not unusual for teachers to comment on the warmth that they’ve received from the team. At the end of their first visit, one teacher said, ‘We’ve been made so welcome. Please invite us to anything you’re doing in future!’. The teams love it too! One volunteer commented on Facebook, ‘this is the best evangelism I’ve been involved in for years’. (I prefer to think of it as an ‘educational resource that teaches about the Christian faith, suitable for all faiths and none’, but I know what he means.)

In my own church, we’ve had families at our Candlelight Service who we’ve never seen before. One dad explained why, ‘the kids came to Christmas Wrapped Up, they were desperate to come back’. And my favourite story? A Learning Support Assistant who returned to school with her Year 2 class at lunchtime, asked the Head if she could attend with the second class in the afternoon, then visited the church over Christmas, became a Christian and was baptised by the following Christmas! All because a church wanted to tell the next generation, the 95% who don’t usually go to church, the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord!

What else?

Christmas isn’t the only opportunity to share these stories of God’s power. We have resources available for Year 6’s moving to High School, church visits to learn about Easter with Year 5’s, materials suitable for World Book Day with Year 4 and lesson plans on the life of Jesus with Year 1.

Are you interested in reaching the 95% who weren’t in Church this Sunday? Then get in touch. We’d love to help!

You can contact Matt at mattl@scriptureunion.org.uk or visit www.scriptureunion.org.uk

Found this helpful? Like, share or tweet

Want more like this? Get the latest articles direct by email every week:

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Your personal details are safe. We won’t spam you, or pass your details onto anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time.

About the author

Matt Lewis
Matt Lewis is a former secondary school teacher who works part-time for Scripture Union Cymru as a Schools Development Worker and part-time for his church as an evangelist.

Read next

Hope For The Homeless
by Paula Harris
Weary From Serving
by Mandi Archer
Creative Evangelism
by Lois Adams
Investing In A New Generation
by Andy Pitt
Everyday Mission
by Katie Hadley
Supporting Mission
by Eddie Arthur (part 2 of The 'M' Word)
Gossiping The Gospel
by Meg Conway
Home For Good
by Neil Davies

Primary Sidebar

Like us on Facebook

Evangelical Magazine

Latest issue

Other popular articles

  • What is ‘praying in the Spirit’ and how do we pray in this way? by Stuart Olyott
    97 likes
  • Golgotha - Why was Jesus crucified outside the city? by Mark Barnes
    32 likes
  • Until we meet again by Alun Ebenezer
    182 likes
  • Sharing Jesus with Mormon Missionaries by Tony Brown
    48 likes
  • Sharing Jesus with a Jehovah’s Witness by Tony Brown
    107 likes
  • Door-to-door with a difference by Sheila Stephen
    18 likes
  • How to secure your church's online Zoom meeting by Mark Barnes
    26 likes
  • Why was Jesus baptised in the River Jordan? by Mark Barnes
    76 likes
  • Weary From Serving by Mandi Archer
  • Everyday Mission by Katie Hadley

The Evangelical Magazine is published by the Evangelical Movement of Wales.
Waterton Cross Business Park, South Road, Bridgend CF31 3UL.
Registered charity number 222407. View our privacy policy.