It’s about putting Christ back in Christmas. Somewhere in the bustle of wrapping paper, packed malls and endless shopping lists, there is a story we long to connect with. It’s a story of a Savior who came to Earth wrapped in nothing more than human skin who would one day redeem the world one person at a time. And, despite our best intentions, somehow that story becomes nothing more than a footnote to our endless to-do lists during the Christmas season.

What if this year was different? What if you could usher in a Christmas that put Christ’s story at the center of your family’s celebration? What if you gave gifts that lived long after the season had come and gone? And what if you could do all this while changing the world in a real way, one person at a time?

Welcome to the Advent Conspiracy

  

 

 

The central theme of the Advent Conspiracy is that Jesus is worshipped in such a way that his followers experience the power of Christ coming into the world.

This powerful story brings with it the promise of transformation in his followers as they celebrate His birth with faithfulness and integrity.

People being led in this journey will not be competing with the consumerist
impulses of our culture but instead be aligning themselves with Christ, thereby worshipping him in a holistic way.

 

Counter-culture consuming. Save the receipt. Give it at the next white elephant party. Wear it only when grandma’s in town. Let’s face it; we don’t necessarily need everything we get at Christmas. By changing our spending habits at Christmas and instead focusing on the gift we were designed to celebrate during this holy season, we’re pushing back on the consumer-driven culture that has somehow wrapped itself around the very heart of Christmas.

Is the Advent Conspiracy against gift giving? No way (your kids can breathe a sigh of relief now). If anything, the Advent Conspiracy is about reminding ourselves that the best gifts of the season are found in the most unexpected ways.

 

Relational giving. Whether it was that afternoon of sledding followed by hot chocolate, the trip with dad to the ballpark, or that framed family photo, there’s something about gifts that come from the heart that mean more to us than any gift found from the sale racks.

And no wonder. When God gave his only son He modeled the ultimate example of relational giving. By saying “no” to over-spending and “yes” to a very ancient way of expressing love, we have the chance to connect with the story of Advent in ways we’ve always hoped.

What does this mean for you and your family? It could mean just taking one less gift out from the “must-have” list and giving one another a gift as simple as
spending time together.

 

Let the revolution begin. Christ, though He was rich, became poor to make many rich. It was in the Advent that Jesus entered our poverty so we would no longer be poor. With the money we save by giving relationally we can redistribute the money we saved to the least of these in our communities and world.

“But I’m just one person.” In 2006, people like you from five churches around the country got together and put the simple idea of relational giving to the test. The result? Just under a half million dollars was raised and donated to Living Water, a foundation that builds fresh water wells in the most desperate corners of the world, along with other organizations. In return, families from these churches are still telling stories of
how Christ returned to their Christmas.

Families are renewed. Lives are changed. Christ is celebrated. Now that’s a Christmas to remember.

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ANGEL TREE
Right now, an estimated 2.3 million children have a mom or dad in prison. At Christmastime, volunteers from your church purchase and deliver gifts to the children of inmates in their parent’s name. Each gift delivery also presents an opportunity to share the love and hope of Christ with each family. Through Angel Tree, these children feel a parent’s love, despite their absence. This year we have already collected presents for 250 children.

JOY DRIVE
This year the JOY DRIVE will have three specific groups that we hope to target to provide special items that can change a life and provide a decent life style. The focus of the JOY Drive is to collect items on the list and bring them to the church for distribution.

Schools
Our first target group is the disadvantaged and poor children (1st-5th grade) in the Wilsonville area. The items that need to be collected are: Shoe cards from Payless, socks, underwear, jackets, scarves, gloves, travel shampoo and reading books.

Homeless
Our second target group is the homeless that live on the streets in downtown Portland. The items that need to be collected are: Hooded sweatshirts, socks, jackets, gloves, warm hats, and nutrition bars.

Prison
Our third target group is the inmates at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville. The items that needs to be collected is: 100 Life Recovery Study Bibles.

ADVENT CONSPIRACY WATER PROJECT
Unsafe water kills nearly 14,000 people daily and is responsible for 80% of all sickness in the world. 1.1 billion people lack access to clean, safe water. 3 million people, most of them children under five, die every year from water-borne diseases. A child dies every 15 seconds because of the lack of clean water. As little as $1 can provide clean, safe water to one person for a year.

This year we are excited to help build water wells around the world that will provide clean, safe water. On Sunday December 23 we will be taking a special offering where all proceeds will go to an organization called “Living Water International”. LWI exists to demonstrate the love of God by providing desperately needed clean water and medical attention, along with the "living water" of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.