'Do Not Be Afraid': New Christmas resources from Open Doors

Celebrate Christmas with the children of the persecuted church.

Free Open Doors resources can help you remember persecuted children this Christmas

“Do not be afraid! I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

The message 'Do not be afraid' is one of the key messages of the Bible.

Certainly for persecuted Christians, the Christmas message of the angels remains crucial. Faced with anxiety and fear, they rely on God’s presence and trust the promises in the Bible.

But for us in the UK and Ireland, it's also a timely reminder. We are emerging from lockdown, but there is still much that is uncertain. Many people are fearful of the future.

With that in mind, we have designed a suite of Open Doors resources to help Christians connect with the persecuted church and to remind ourselves that if God is with us, we don’t have to be afraid.

So here's a quick run-down of the resources we have for churches – as well as some ideas about how you could use them you with your Christmas services, whatever form they take.

Do Not Be Afraid service sheet

This free carol sheet is available through the post or as a digital download. It features well-loved carols, and stories about Christmas from persecuted children around the world.

• Use it in services to take people through the Christmas story. With Bible readings and written prayers, it makes a great service resource
• Take it out with you carol singing and collect money for persecuted children
• Use the QR code on the carol sheet to encourage gifts to support persecuted Christians at this crucial time - or maybe you could take up a collection in the service.

Do Not Be Afraid Christmas card

These free cards contain seven Bible-verse prayers to help people pray for courage and peace this Christmas. They also contain a prayer from Youssif (12), a persecuted Christian boy in Iraq.

• Give them out: You can give them out at your Christmas services, or send then round to friends and neighbours
• Join in prayer: People in your church can pray one of the seven prayers each day between Christmas and New Year. It's a great way to help people to face a new year without fear
• Share a message of hope: The cards contain a link to Open Doors’ latest letter-writing campaigns so that people share messages of hope and encouragement with persecuted Christians around the world.

Be an angel with the children and families activity

Do you know children who could ‘be an angel’ this Christmas? Angels, as we know, are messengers – and in this downloadable resource children have the chance to send a message to persecuted children in the Middle East.

• Contains a template to enable children and families to send to children's groups in Iraq and Syria.
• Discussion points help children talk about what worries them and how God might help
• Great for use either in family groups, or as a children's activity at church. Or you could use it as part of an all-age service.

You can find all these resources on our Do Not Be Afraid resource page.

Let us know what you are planning

How are you planning to use our Christmas resources? Do contact us to let us know your ideas and approaches. We'd love to hear from you.