Crossway is pleased to announce that over 743,000 Share the Good News of Christmas bags were distributed this Christmas season! The program was launched in early 2009 with the vision of partnering with Christian Retail Stores and the local church to reach one million homes with the gospel.
“Our prayer is that the content of each bag (a New Testament, a gospel tract by Max Lucado, and an invitation to the local churches Christmas Eve service) would impact peoples’ lives for eternity, leading many to a saving knowledge of their Savior, Jesus Christ,” explained Geoff Dennis, EVP of Sales, Marketing, and Media. “This has been an extremely successful campaign, one we plan on repeating next Christmas. We could not have done this without the strong support of CBA and the local Christian retailer.”
Retailers eagerly caught on to the vision of the program, coordinating with local churches to equip their congregations to go into their communities and hand out bags. “Crossway exceeded anticipated sales this Christmas season and we are very grateful for our relationship with our retail partners,” Dennis said.
Church members nationwide gathered to assemble kits and reach out to their communities. Village Bible Church of Sugar Grove, IL distributed 8,000 Bibles. “Our congregation really enjoyed getting to meet neighbors whom they did not know and having an opportunity to walk the streets praying for the people who lived in the homes where they dropped off gift bags,” Pastor Keith Duff reported. “I think we gained just as much as those who received the Bibles. In retrospect, I wish we had picked up 16,000 Bibles rather than 8,000, as once people began handing them out it became contagious and they wanted to do more!”
Crossway looks forward to continuing Share the Good News of Christmas in 2010. We are hopeful that building relationships with retailers and local churches to share the gospel will transform lives, bless the church, and glorify our Savior.
Thank you to all who participated and stay tuned for details on how you can help reach one million homes in 2010!
Our church got 100 of those bags and handed them out as best we can considering the people live around a lake. One the Sunday before Christmas, there was a couple sitting in the back and I saw one of the New Testaments that were in the bags. Not sure what impact we had on the people in our community, but God knows who got a bag and what they did with them. It was a great ministry and outreach opportunity.
Comment by Chris Land — February 3, 2010 @ 1:24 pm
My box of 50 Bibles disappeared in minutes on my densely populated street in Queens. Next year I’m four cases, and I can’t wait! The highlight of my Christmas season!
Comment by Paul Klenk — February 5, 2010 @ 10:22 am