Even non-Christians consider it "cool" to decorate at Christmas with the symbols of our faith, although most are blissfully unaware that their decorations represent truths about Christianity. And because non-Christians may think decorating for Christmas is the same as worshiping Christ, on mission Christians take extra care to make this distinction and use each opportunity presented by the holidays to share the gospel.

Bake on mission cookies
Deliver a sweet witness by baking sugar cookies cut into Christmas symbol shapes such as angels, wreaths, bells and trees. Prepare a colorful explanation of the symbols (included in this article) and deliver it with your goodies. Add a note of appreciation, along with an invitation to special Christmas events at your church. Share the on mission treats with your service pro-viders: mechanics, pharmacists, a favorite cashier, or the employees of your favorite fast food restaurant. Ask God where to deliver the treats.

Send on mission cards
Choose or create cards with a distinctively Christian message. Include a note to reinforce the gospel. I include a brief letter containing family news, ending with a reminder that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birth and our Christian faith. The year our teenage daughter died, I wrote: "It is this season that brought to us the hope that we now affirm . . . His birth and death brought to us everlasting life."

Invite people to church
Offer hospitality to non-Christian friends, neighbors and family members with invitations to holiday services at church, followed by dessert and coffee in your home. My friend Rhonda recalls a young couple who attended their Christmas service at the invitation of neighbors. They seemed committed to a non-Christian lifestyle. But they brought their two small children, and God worked a miracle. Even though no altar call was given, this couple went forward and committed their lives to Christ and became part of a church family.

Invite people to your home
The Ervin family encouraged their teenagers to invite non-Christian friends to a special Christmas event in their home, an interactive advent celebration focusing on the Christmas story. They decorated a Names-of-Jesus Tree with handmade ornaments representing names used for Jesus in the Bible, such as Counselor, Savior, Emmanuel, Messiah. Each took turns reading scriptures explaining the names and then hung their ornaments. The evening stimulated discussion about the gospel.

Share gospel-centered books
Find opportunities to share Jesus and delight in the joy of children by making use of this season’s abundant literature. I visited my son’s elementary classroom as a story reader. Because I included secular holiday material, I was able to read a colorful children’s book, When Joy Came: The Story of Christmas, and another book about Jesus’ birth, The Tiny Star. I later received a note from the teacher thanking me for "caring about her children’s souls."

Local daycare providers may be glad to have a guest reader. Or volunteer in a children’s library program. Well-written and carefully chosen books can present the gospel message without raising the ire of people committed to a secular celebration.

Give on mission gifts
Thoughtful gifts can communicate Christ’s love and our faith. One friend gave a nativity set to her neighbors, even though they are Buddhists. She explained to them what part each piece represents in the birth of Christ. Although her friends have not yet become Christians, they continue to display their nativity scene.

Select on mission stocking stuffers
Another on mission woman has given fun gifts with a clear gospel message to her neighbors "anonymously" for several years, although many happy recipients are on to her surprises. She stuffs stockings with candy, cookies, Christmas tracts, scripture verses, an invitation to holiday events at her church and a personal prayer written for each family. Her early morning "secret" deliveries to their doorsteps delight her neighbors.

Deliver evangelistic baskets
Use Christmas-Is-Coming baskets as an evangelistic tool. They can be delivered as early as late November.

I fill mine with Christmas music, an advent calendar depicting the birth of Christ, a Christmas book, holiday snacks, a candle, a nativity ornament and a card reminding recipients that Jesus is the real "reason for the upcoming season." To minimize costs, I plan ahead and purchase most items for these baskets during after-Christmas sales the year before.

Lettie J. Kirkpatrick is a writer living in Cleveland, Tennessee.