The Best Gift You Can Give Your Family This Christmas: The Gospel of Jesus Christ

As I set out to write this article about utilizing your family Christmas gatherings for gospel witnessing, I have to be honest with you: I find family gatherings to be some of the most challenging places to share the gospel effectively. Family members are those who have known you your whole life. They’ve seen you at your best and worst, both before and after you came to faith in Christ.

When we start following Christ seriously, tension often arises in our family relationships. Family members may judge us, treat us differently, or make assumptions about us, sometimes dismissing our testimony altogether. We might also say hurtful things or judge them in return, which only makes things more difficult.

If you have faced challenges with your family relationships, especially related to your faith, I want to encourage you—you are in good company. Jesus was discredited by his own family. For starters, his brothers didn’t believe he was the Messiah (Jn 7:5). At one point, his family even tried to pull him away from ministering to crowds because they thought he was out of his mind (Mk 3:21). Jesus himself told us while sharing the gospel in his hometown among family members, that “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family” (Mk 6:4).

Christ also warned us that his gospel message would bring division within families. He said, “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Mt 10:35-36).

Christ commands us to stand firm in these difficulties, assuring us that any ridicule or rejection we face for his sake will be greatly rewarded in his kingdom. This work will not be easy, but we must keep praying and sharing, knowing that with God, all things are possible (Mt 19:26).

Begin With Prayer

Charles Spurgeon once said, “A lack of prayer suggests that we expect little and, therefore, ask little. When we do not pray, we miss the blessing of soul-winning.” This quote reminds us that the power is found in the Holy Spirit through prayer, not in our own words.

To begin, find a place where you can be alone and undistracted to pray over each family member. Consider praying for each of them by name and asking God to give them a hunger for Himself and to open their hearts to repentance. Then, ask God to give you His heart for them. Without carrying the Father’s love, compassion, and mercy, we cannot expect our message to break through.

Addressing Relational Tension

Before going into family gatherings to share the gospel, consider these questions: How are my relationships with my family members? Are there any broken relationships that need reconciliation? Have I unintentionally or intentionally hurt or offended any of them? If so, it’s crucial for the sake of the gospel to do all you can to restore these relationships.

You may also find that you are harboring resentment toward family members. Extending forgiveness, as Christ commands, is essential to free yourself up to build love with the heart of Christ.

Gospel Conversations

Once you have prayed and reconciled relationships, think about ways to share testimonies and the gospel naturally in everyday conversations.

One powerful way to open up spiritual conversations is to include testimonies of God’s work when sharing updates about your life. Your family will likely ask how you’ve been and what you’ve been up to. This is your opportunity to share about Christ. For example, if a family member asks what I’ve been up to this past semester at seminary, I might reply, “It’s been an amazing but busy semester. Classes are good, but one of my favorite things this semester has been going to on-campus prayer meetings, where I have experienced so much peace from God.”

When it comes to sharing the gospel, each person has a different way of doing it and that’s okay. The key is to share it verbally—not just assume people understand it. A common misconception is that we need an “open door” or an obvious opportunity, such as someone directly asking about the gospel, to share it. But sometimes we don’t need permission from a drowning person to throw them a life vest. As followers of Christ, we have that life vest, and it’s our job to extend it to each person, allowing them the option to receive it.

Sometimes using a visual aid, such as a sticker, can help explain the gospel. This method has been one of my favorite ways to share. I recently designed my own visual gospel tool with help from professors at Southeastern Seminary called “The Fall Illustration,” to help make sharing the gospel as clear and simple as possible. If you’re interested in purchasing a single sticker or bundle use this link.

Leave the Rest in God’s Hands

Once we have done what we can to pray for our family’s salvation and have shared the gospel with them, all we can do is love them and wait for God to work. We are called to plant the seed of the gospel, and God is the one who brings the growth. My hope and prayer is that as you go into this Christmas season, you will be prayerful and watch as the Lord does amazing things through you.