Amy* was in high school when she found out she was pregnant. On the night of the Coffee Oasis Family Christmas party, she was only days away from delivering her baby.

She was one of the hundreds of youth who had come to Coffee Oasis’s annual Christmas gathering with the hope of experiencing something rare: Joy.

When a Coffee Oasis staff member asked Amy if she had any plans for Christmas, her reply was heartbreaking: 

“No. My family doesn’t do anything. This is my Christmas.”

During the Christmas season, my family enjoys some of our favorite traditions. We love singing Christmas carols, giving gifts to one another, and decorating our home. These times together are so special. And they help us to remember how Jesus came to be our Immanuel—God with us.

However, like Amy, many people in our community do not get to experience the joy of Christmas. Some don’t even have a place to call home. This is why we are inviting the Coram Deo family to partner with the Coffee Oasis this Christmas. 

On Friday, December 20, Coffee Oasis will provide Christmas celebrations for homeless and at-risk youth all throughout Kitsap County. They will share a meal, sing Christmas songs, hear the Christmas story, and open Christmas gifts that have been picked out just for them. And like you and me, they will be with people who love them. 

And YOUR generosity is critical in making it possible. There are three specific ways that we are inviting you to participate:

1. Pray — Spend some time together as a family praying for the youth and the staff that are ministering to them at Coffee Oasis. Pray that they would know God’s love for them and that they would experience His joy this Christmas.
2. Buy coffee — Go buy a coffee or seven and support Coffee Oasis! You were probably going to buy the coffee anyway, (let’s be honest), and this way you will be supporting ministry that is bringing the hope of the gospel to homeless and at-risk youth.
3. Give a gift — $50 is all it takes to provide a family Christmas for one homeless or at-risk youth in our community. Your donation helps to bring Christmas to youth who might otherwise not have anything.
   

Coram Deo Church will be accepting monetary donations to help provide for the Coffee Oasis Family Christmas Project. You can make your secure donation online or by selecting the Coffee Oasis Christmas fund when you give through the Coram Deo app. Or if you prefer to go old school, you can always write a check to Coram Deo Church, designating Coffee Oasis Christmas on the memo line, and drop it off at any of the services this Sunday. 

Regardless of which way you choose to give, please give generously.

And as you go into the holidays this year, remember that we have joy because of Jesus. And because of Jesus, we have been sent to bring that joy to the world. Thank you for your generosity and your kindness!

*Youth names have been changed to protect their privacy.