Starting a Christmas Kindness Challenge (#TheChristmasChallenge) in your church creates meaningful opportunities for your congregation to live out Christ's love during the holiday season. This simple initiative brings families together, strengthens community bonds, and helps everyone focus on the true spirit of Christmas through acts of service and compassion.
Whether your church has 50 members or 500, you can launch a successful kindness challenge that transforms hearts and impacts your local community. Here's your step-by-step guide to get started.
Step 1: Choose Your Challenge Structure and Timeline
Begin by deciding how long your challenge will run and what format works best for your congregation. The most popular option is a 25-day Christmas kindness challenge that runs from December 1st through Christmas Day. This timeline gives families enough time to build momentum and develop lasting habits of kindness.
Consider these structure options:
- Daily challenges: One specific act of kindness each day
- Weekly themes: Four weekly focuses during Advent
- Weekend specials: Larger group activities on Saturdays or Sundays
- Family choice: A list of 25+ activities families can choose from
Break your activities into different categories to provide variety. You might organize challenges around community service, family kindness, neighbor outreach, church member care, and local charity support. This approach ensures every family finds activities that match their interests and abilities.
Decide whether participants will complete every suggested activity or choose from a larger list. Flexibility helps busy families stay engaged without feeling overwhelmed.
Step 2: Develop Age-Appropriate Activities with Biblical Foundation
Create a comprehensive list of kindness activities that work for different age groups in your congregation. Your activities should include simple acts that children can participate in alongside more involved projects for teens and adults.
Easy activities for young children:
- Making Christmas cards for nursing home residents
- Helping siblings with chores without being asked
- Leaving treats for mail carriers or delivery drivers
- Donating toys they've outgrown
- Singing Christmas carols for neighbors
Activities for teens and adults:
- Organizing food drives for local shelters
- Volunteering at community Christmas events
- Adopting families in need for gift-giving
- Visiting homebound church members
- Preparing meals for new parents or grieving families
Pair each day's activity with a Bible verse that connects the act of kindness to Christ's love. For example, pair helping elderly neighbors with Leviticus 19:32: "Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God." This biblical foundation helps participants understand that kindness reflects God's heart and teaches children important spiritual lessons alongside practical service.
Include memory verses for children to learn throughout the challenge. This combination of action and scripture study creates lasting spiritual impact beyond the Christmas season.
Step 3: Create Supporting Materials and Resources
Develop materials that help families stay engaged and organized throughout the challenge. Your resource package should include practical tools that make participation easy and meaningful.
Essential materials to create:
- Kindness calendar or checklist: A visual guide showing each day's suggested activity
- Family journal pages: Space for participants to document their experiences and reflect on what they learned
- Scripture cards: Bible verses that correspond to different types of kindness activities
- Local resource list: Contact information for charities, nursing homes, and volunteer opportunities in your area
- Template materials: Printable cards, letters, and thank-you notes families can use
Consider creating a visual tracking system like a Christmas tree where families can add ornaments for each completed act of kindness, or a stained glass coloring page where they color sections as they participate. Visual elements help children stay motivated and create excitement around the challenge.
Prepare practical information such as suggestion lists for different scenarios, safety guidelines for community activities, and tips for involving extended family members. Having these resources ready removes barriers that might prevent families from participating.
Step 4: Launch with Congregation-Wide Engagement
Announce your Christmas Kindness Challenge during Sunday services at least three weeks before December begins. Create excitement by sharing your vision and providing specific examples of activities families can expect.
Launch strategy tips:
- Share personal stories about how kindness has impacted your own family
- Invite community partners to speak about volunteer opportunities
- Display sample materials and resources you've prepared
- Encourage families to invite friends and extended family members to join
- Create a hashtag like #OurChurchKindnessChallenge for social media sharing or simply use the hashtag #TheChristmasChallenge.
Plan some congregation-wide activities that bring everyone together for larger impact projects. These might include caroling at assisted living facilities, preparing care packages for homeless individuals, or collecting specific items for local food banks. Group activities build community spirit and demonstrate the collective power of your church's kindness efforts.
Set up communication channels where families can share their experiences, ask questions, and encourage one another. Consider creating a private Facebook group, dedicating bulletin board space, or using your church's messaging app to keep the conversation going throughout December.
Address practical concerns upfront by emphasizing that the challenge should be joyful, not burdensome. Let families know it's perfectly fine to adapt activities to fit their circumstances or skip days when necessary.
Step 5: Foster Ongoing Discussion and Celebration
Build kindness conversations into your regular church activities during December. Dedicate time during services, small group meetings, and family gatherings to discuss experiences and share stories from the challenge.
Ways to maintain engagement:
- Sunday service testimonials: Invite families to briefly share meaningful moments from their kindness activities
- Small group discussions: Include challenge experiences in weekly study groups
- Social media sharing: Encourage families to post photos and stories (with permission when involving others)
- Bulletin updates: Feature weekly highlights and upcoming community activities
- Children's ministry integration: Let kids share their favorite kindness activities during Sunday school
Create opportunities for reflection by asking participants what surprised them, which activities were most meaningful, and how the challenge changed their perspective on Christmas. These conversations help cement the spiritual lessons and encourage continued kindness beyond December.
Don't let the challenge end on December 25th. Plan a celebration service in early January where your congregation can reflect on the collective impact they made. Share numbers like total volunteer hours, items donated, or families served. Consider displaying photos, reading thank-you notes you received, or creating a video montage of challenge highlights.
Use this momentum to plan ongoing service opportunities throughout the year. Many churches find that Christmas kindness challenges naturally lead to monthly service projects, regular volunteer partnerships, or seasonal giving initiatives that keep their congregation engaged in community outreach year-round.
Getting Started This Week
Choose your challenge structure and start developing your activity list immediately. Begin reaching out to local organizations to establish volunteer partnerships and gather contact information for your resource materials.
Remember that the most meaningful acts of kindness are often the simplest ones. A smile, helping with snow removal, or delivering homemade cookies can brighten someone's day more than you might expect. Your Christmas Kindness Challenge will create a ripple effect of compassion that transforms both your congregation and your broader community.
The goal isn't perfection: it's building habits of kindness that reflect Christ's love and extend far beyond the Christmas season. Start planning your challenge today, and watch how 25 days of intentional kindness can transform your church community and the lives of individuals within it.