Giving people hope this Christmas

In the last of a special series focussing on mission, Lesley Hamilton-Messer considers the importance of sharing faith.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Luke 2:10

WE have come to the last in our series of questions that any congregation seeking to be more engaged in mission might usefully ask themselves.

As Christmas approaches, we hope that people who don’t normally attend church will come to our services. We hope that they will hear and understand the Good News of Jesus Christ. While this certainly happens, most people who come to faith don’t cite the Christmas services as the thing that impacted them, but rather conversations with people they already know.

For over a decade we have been working with congregations to help discern and realise a vision for mission. Consistently they tell us that they are confident in giving practical service to others, but much less so in sharing faith in words. There are many reasons for this, but they usually stem from fear and anxiety; it feels too hard to attempt to overcome people’s misgivings when there are other things to be done. But consider, if there actually is good news and nobody tells it, does it give people hope?

So, our question is, ‘How confident are we to share our faith with others?’

If we want to give people hope, then alongside the practical service we offer, we need to share what’s behind what we do, and allow people to find their own reasons for hope.

So how do we do this better, more naturally? There are resources which can help, but it also takes practice and awee bit of courage. If this is something that your congregation wants to explore further, why not consider one of the following to get you started.

• Tell your stories to each other. If we can’t talk about it to one another in church, how will we be able to talk to others about it? The ‘Conversations in…’ series of resources helps us begin to talk about our faith through considering Worship, Prayer and Discipleship in a deep, yet unthreatening way. One person who participated commented that, ‘I never knew I had a story until I heard you tell yours.’ Contact (FaithAction@ churchofscotland.org.uk).

• Consider setting up or joining an ACORN group. Members support one another to make prayerful contact with others, and are mindful about noticing where they see God at work. I am part of a group, and It’s the most encouraging thing I do! Find out more from Rob Rawson (rrawson@churchofscotland.org.uk) or Paul Haringman, the Scottish ACORN co-ordinator (paulharingman.mission@ gmail.com).

• Some people feel they don’t know enough – or that they don’t have the words to articulate it. Understanding our Faith, and Exploring Faith are two resources from the Church of Scotland LEARN series that can help us to delve a bit deeper into some of our core beliefs, and are great to use in groups or on our own. Exploring Faith is particularly helpful for those considering membership. They are available from Saint Andrew Press (https://standrewpress.hymnsam.co.uk/) So as we celebrate the hope of Christmas, let’s pray for the courage to share that hope with others.