by Jason C. Dukes
Let this soak in: Americans spend $400 billon annually on Christmas expenses while at least one estimate indicates that only $30 billion could provide clean water and sanitation for every person on earth (assuming competent, responsible implementers could be found to do the work).
Now consider these 2 words: Advent conspiracy.
The two words are an odd pair no doubt. But not so odd to 4 local church expressions in Houston, Texas, who, in light of Jesus’ love and the reality of the worldwide water crisis, decided to conspire together during the Christmas of 2006 to “worship fully, spend less, give more, love all.” Advent Conspiracy has now blossomed into a movement of many thousands of Christ followers across the globe who are spending less on themselves in order to bless others with clean water.
Westpoint Church near Orlando, Florida, the local church expression of which I am a member, got involved during the Christmas seasons of 2008 and 2009. We were able to raise enough money each year to help support 2 different clean water well projects in partnership with Living Water International. (By the way, my fellow New Hope author Dillon Burroughs will be donating a portion of the proceeds from his book, Thirst No More, to this same organization.)
Unified to Make a Difference
But the story got a whole lot more exciting for me in 2010. Last year, the Church of West Orange, a diverse group of several local church expressions being the church together to West Orange County (central Florida), joined together in an attempt to raise $11,000 for a village in Ethiopia that lacked easy access to clean water. (The story of the Churchof West Orange, which includes Westpoint Church, and our desire to live out the unity Jesus prayed for His followers in John 17 is highlighted in my new book, Beyond My Church.) By God’s grace, we were able to reach our goal of $11,000 and now that Ethiopian village has clean water.
Even better, an existing gospel partnership in that particular village—focused on loving families and orphans—now enjoys greater influence with the people there as a result of the water ministry. Our together effort in Florida—deciding to get less stuff and give more hope—is yielding eternal fruit in a remote area of Africa thousands of miles away from us.
It didn’t come without both unity and sacrifice, though. Unity was on display not only through 6 local church expressions on the west side of Orlando, but also through several local businesses who took part. This got people—both those connected with a church family and those not connected with a church family—to come together around an important project, which in turn sparked some awesome conversation about the real meaning of Christmas and the generosity of the God who came near as Emmanuel.
Sacrifice was on display, as well. But when you really stop and think about it, was it? In no way do we ever want to take away from how special Christmas is to all of us, and in no way do we want to diminish the significance of the church cantatas and celebrations and pageants that are held each year, but is it really a sacrifice to spend less on those gifts and those celebrations in order to give a gift so basic as clean water to someone in need? That’s not sacrifice. That’s compassion.
We are empowered to show compassion to both the local and global needs of which we become aware because of the gracious sacrifice that was made for us through the arrival of a Baby whose tiny, smooth-skinned hands and feet would not remain unscarred.
In fact, as churches and individuals we were grateful to get less and give more. I am not telling this story out of pride to gain your applause. Rather, I am sharing it in hopes that it will encourage you to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all this Christmas. There’s joy to be found!
May you stir up some conspiracy in your town this Advent. Unite together around a local or a global need, or both if you can, and then spend less so you can give more hope away.
By your living in such a manner, perhaps someone else’s heart and mind and life will be changed in just the way you may have hoped for had you brought them to a big cantata. And maybe that’s the conspiracy. Christmas was not intended to be about presents and presentation, but about presence. Compassion. God coming near to us. Then we go and do the same together.
Jason C. Dukes, author of Live Sent, Cartas Vivas, and Beyond My Church, has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Raised in New Orleans, he is a Christ follower and a leader, a husband and a father, a learner and a teacher, a servant and a brother. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church.
