When we think of Christmas here in America, many struggle with an almost jaded feeling. What should be a wonderful season gets more and more commercialized each year. Stores begin putting Christmas displays up in summer, and the online barrage begins as well. We hear about more and more families struggling to find the time to be together like they used to be years ago before a host of competing interests lay claim for attention. Above all, there is so much effort—perhaps unwittingly—to pull our attention away from what Christmas is all about, and that is the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who came to . . . save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

I am so thankful for the SGA-supported Immanuel’s Child Christmas ministry that you help support through your prayers and gifts. Yes, the churches we serve across the former Soviet Union start their planning early because this unique ministry now reaches more than 70,000 children and their families. Accordingly we must take early steps to help provide the financial resources they need to reach ever more children with the Gospel. The focus is where it should be—on Christ and what He has done for us through His atoning death on the cross and glorious resurrection! While the attention of the world is often on specific calendar days, the story of Jesus is one timeless Gospel truth that can be shared at any time of the year!

It is worth noting something churches there have in common with Western churches. There are people who only show up in church at Christmas and Easter. And that is prime, fertile ground for sharing the life-changing Gospel. With Immanuel’s Child, while the primary focus is on reaching children, thousands of adults hear the Gospel as well during the outreaches. Each year, the churches report back to us on the number of adults who repented and trusted in Christ through the ministry. What Christmas joy that brings to us all!

So, even though it is September, please pray and give as God allows you—in advance for this Christmas’s ministries and outreaches. By God’s grace and mercy, we will see yet another record number of children blessed by Immanuel’s Child!

For our Savior,

Michael Johnson
President