The best Christmas gifts don’t always come wrapped in pretty paper and tied up with a matching bow on top. Each December, Southern Baptists join together in one cooperative effort to raise money for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. This is an incredible gift for those missionaries serving around the world. With 100% of funds raised going directly to the missionaries on the field, churches are looking for new ways to motivate their people to be a part of reaching the nations. Here are seven fun and fresh ideas you may want to consider as you plan to promote and fundraise for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Be sure to celebrate the amount of money raised!

Let’s Party!

  • Canvas Painting Party and Silent Auction – Tap into the creative sides of your students. Have students partner up to create works of art on canvas. Have tables set up with fun plastic tablecloths with small canvases, pencils, painters tape, acrylic paint, paint brushes, paper towels, paper plate palettes and cups of water. Use the LMCO theme and have students design their art pieces with it in mind. Once the canvases have dried, plan a day where they can be displayed at church for silent auction. Announce silent auction winners and collect those funds for the LMCO.
  • DIY Christmas Gift Night – DIY presents are all the rage! With so many Pinterest projects to choose from, it will be fun picking out a few craft options for partygoers to make. Collect a crafting fee from everyone, set up craft stations and enlist an instructor for each type of craft. Provide Christmas snacks to keep the party going! Donate the Craft fees to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Partygoers will walk away with a great gift to give to someone special while also helping to reach the nations through the LMCO.

Let’s Serve!

  • Lottie Moon Post Office – Make the most of the fellowship in your church by creating a post office where people can mail Christmas cards to each other. Have students set up and man a Lottie Moon Post Office during service times. Create fun stamp and mark cards, as church attendees pay 25 cents for each card they would like to mail, with proceeds going to the LMCO. Use file boxes decorated for Christmas and filled with church family file folders to collect mail in. Members can come check their mail during the month of December and receive any special Christmas cards they may have received.
  • Gift Wrapping for Lottie – Everyone could use a little elf to help them knock out wrapping all of those Christmas gifts. Let your students set up wrapping stations at church. Set a fee or collect donations for gift wrapping services and you will help your members and your LMCO goal at the same time.
  • Christmas Light Patrol – Help your church family get in the Christmas spirit by offering Christmas light installation. Set a fee for the service or collect a donation for decorating yards and houses. This will be a fun way to raise money for Lottie Moon.
  • Family Christmas Card Photo Booth -They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but maybe several pictures could be worth even more. Create a high quality photo backdrop or photo booth at church. Have families sign up to get their family Christmas photo taken for a donation to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Email the photo to the family so that they can use it to make their family Christmas cards.
  • Lottie Moon Bake Sale – Everyone loves beautifully decorated Christmas cookies and treats. Enlist people to bake and decorate all kinds of fabulous treats to sell at church.  Highlight the story of Lottie Moon, telling how she used cookies to connect with the lost.  Invite families to purchase treats as a way to support your church’s LMCO efforts.

 

Let’s Get Competitive!

  • Adopt a UPG – According to the International Mission Board, there are currently 3,200 Unreached People Groups around the world. Small groups and Sunday School classes can help reach those groups by giving to the LMCO. Challenge these small groups to see how many UPG groups they can impact. Set an amount from $1-$10 as the cost of adopting a group. Make it a competition to see which group can adopt the most UPG groups. Keep track in a visual way, so that they are able to see it throughout the month of December.  Award the winning group with a Sunday morning breakfast, served by the student ministry.