December 23, 2010
Leanne pulls up in front of the building where an after-school program is located and gives her 13-year-old son, Peter, a hug as he gets out of the old car. The single-parent mother promises him that he can have whatever he wants for Christmas, because she’s getting a substantial Christmas bonus from her employer. But her hope of granting her son’s request is shattered later when her employer informs his team that because of budget cuts, there will be no Christmas bonus this year.
Leanne and Peter are characters in a video production that will be presented at Community (Alliance) Church of Jesus Christ in the Bronx, New York, on Christmas Eve. Written and produced by church member Christian Igbinovia, “The Perfect Christmas Gift” is an evangelistic outreach designed to bring God’s message of peace on earth to residents of the New York City burrough.
The project is the brainchild of Igbinovia, who incorporated the gifts and talents of believers from Community Church as well as other area churches to form One Body Productions. Each of the churches that participated in the production will present the video as well. The story revolves around a woman and her son, a student in an after-school program, and how their lives are impacted by the compassionate touch of the Savior.
“When the idea came, I knew it was from God,” says Christian. “Instead of the customary traditional Christmas presentation, I wanted to do something different. That’s when I thought about making a movie. Once the thought was there, the script came quickly and clearly. It was all God.”
The church, pastored by Das Misir, had no budget for the project. But Christian believed if he was willing to obey God’s call, he wouldn’t have to look for the resources. “The Lord would provide everything we would need,” he says. “And He did!”
Christian’s passion to reach the lost is especially piqued this time of year when he observes people getting into a celebratory mode and participating in the rituals of the season. Many can’t explain the feeling the wells up within, but their yearning for the hope and joy that Christmas offers propels them on. “As the season comes to a close,” he says, “they are left disappointed because the peace and joy for which their hearts longed appears to have been nothing more than a fantasy captured only through stories of Santa and happy-ever-after Christmas movies.
“This Christmas, we want to seize the opportunity to point people to that Bright and Morning Star of whom an angel from God proclaimed, ‘I bring you good news of great joy that will be to all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord’ (Luke 2:10-11). This is the heart of ‘The Perfect Christmas Gift’- a message greater than any fantasy the mind could ever dream and more valuable than the production of any movie.”
This Christmas Eve, as New York City residents look for things to do, places to go, movies to see, and fixes for their inner thirst, the Community Church of Jesus Christ will open its doors with love and invite lost and lonely people to experience the perfect Christmas gift-Jesus.
Learn More
To find out more about the Community Church project, visit www.wix.com/wopchristmas/2010, e-mail [email protected],
or call (718)-933-2812.
What You Can Do
Pray for God to draw people to the film presentation at Community Church of Jesus Christ in the Bronx as well as to the churches showing the film in other areas of New York City and in New Jersey. Pray for logistics to run smoothly without interruption. If you live in the area, take family and friends to the event.