Digital Evangelism Issues

In the Celtic Christian tradition, ‘thin spaces’ are times and places where the spiritual and the natural world intersect – occasions when it is possible to reach out and be touched by God.

Christmas, even in our post-christendom world, is such a thin space. Even despite the western consumer-fest of Christmas, even in countries with no Christian tradition, even with all the schmaltz and sparkle, there is often a remarkable focus on the story of God born as man.

It is the one time in the year when many, with no apparent interest in faith, will attend a church, or read the Christmas story – perhaps as part of their attempt to recapture something of the wonder of their childhood.

“But how did it end?”

Cartoon credit: Papas/Manchester Guardian. Used with permission of Guardian Newspapers

Staggering numbers of people use Google to find out more of the Christmas story. Websites which have outsider-friendly explanations of Christmas will receive hundreds, often thousands, of hits during December. It’s not too late to add pages to your church website, for example. Rusty Wright’s Christmas articles, along with some of our recommended embedded video clips, would be a quick ready-made way to go, and can put the Christmas story into the context of the entire Good News.

In UK last year, the usually secular BBC produced a compelling 4-part TV drama series retelling the Christmas story with great power.

Using video

Gateway Church has produced a very creative video to express the reason Jesus was born. Their team spent 80 hours in production and animation on this project. For this purpose, they’ve stripped any branding for the church to make it available for others to use. You can embed it on Facebook or blogs, or download an HD copy to use in a church meeting. Here’s the five-minute video:

Creative ideas

Christmas videos can go viral, especially if they have a new slant or way of presentation. The Beatbox Nativity video produced by a UK pastor has been featured in the national press because of its unique style, and has just won a national UK competition sponsored by TV company ITN.

Damaris resources on Christmas are another effective way of using this opportunity – see below. And check our other Christmas videos and stories and Power to Change’s Santa’s Greatest Gift.

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