7 Things to Do Over Christmas Break

The Porch is now on break for Christmas. We take this one break each year to allow everyone to celebrate Christmas, and to give our team of staff and volunteers a chance to recharge and plan for the next year.

We do know that gives you about six weeks of no Porch, and that might disappoint some folks. But I would encourage you to use this time, and your free Tuesday nights, to recharge and grow yourself.

How? There are a lot of possibilities, but here are seven things you can do to make good use of your Christmas break.

1. Pray every day. The most important thing we can do year-round is to pray. Pray for The Porch ministry to have an eternal impact. Pray for the young adults in Dallas, and everywhere, to accept the gospel and experience the fullness of life that comes from trusting in Christ. And pray that we, as fallible humans, would not get in the way of the message.

2. Rest. God designed us to have periods of rest, and this is one extended opportunity to do so. This applies to everyone, but I would especially like to emphasize this for our volunteer team: 200+ people who commit to coming early and staying late every Tuesday, as well as following up with people, counseling and discipling their peers, planning events, managing our online ministry, and basically making The Porch happen. They do it all on top of their own jobs, for a grand total of zero pay. Resist the temptation to not take some time off this Christmas season.

3. Be on mission. It is not about going to church on a Tuesday; it is about being on mission with your life, wherever you may be. So share the gospel. Tell people what Christmas is all about. Look for opportunities to be generous or care for those who are less fortunate.

4. Focus on Jesus. Spend time working on your relationship with Him. Being on mission really comes out of an overflow of Him in your life. Plus, it’s His birthday we’re celebrating.

5. Be in the Word. This ties in heavily to the above. If you don’t know where to start studying the Bible, I’d suggest signing up for Join the Journey, a free daily email Bible study with devotionals written by other “Porchies” and Watermark members. A new Journey year starts on January 1; if you want something focused on Christmas before then, check out Desiring God’s Good News of Great Joy, which is a free eBook devotional you can download (no sign-up required).

6. Fellowship with loved ones. Love on your family well. If you don’t have family or can’t be with them, you should still have a community of brothers or sisters in Christ to gather with. We are not meant to be alone, and you don’t have to be. If you haven’t taken the step to get into community, or want to know how, check out this page.

7. Podcast messages you missed. I know a lot of people will be spending a lot of time traveling, and one way I like to use that time is to listen to sermon podcasts. There are a lot of good sermon options online, but if you want to specifically catch up on The Porch messages you missed, you can find years of past Porch messages here. If you want some specific suggestions, you can learn more about Solomon and Ecclesiastes in this message from way back in Launch 2006, or this special Christmas message, or learn how to be satisfied with Christmas from a couple years ago.

Mark your calendars for a special kickoff Porch on January 16. In the meantime, make good use of the time you have during this Christmas season.

How are you spending your Christmas break?