Holiday Church Movement Spreads Worship Over Gift-Giving

By Kirsten McIntyre, NEWS 9

Edmond, Oklahoma -- During the holidays, it's easy for life to become crazy and chaotic. With so many gifts to buy and wrap, sometimes it gets to be a bit much. But there's a growing movement to slow down and enjoy the season through worship.

The movement is called Advent Conspiracy, a grassroots effort spreading through churches nationwide.

The idea is to get away from the commercialism of Christmas and get back to its real meaning.

Clark Frailey is busy preparing for his Sunday sermon. In recent weeks, the pastor has been focusing his messages on getting back to a more simple Christmas.

"Meaning not focusing on the gift giving, the bows, all the other things that go with Christmas, we're focusing on it as a worship event primarily," said Pastor Clark Frailey with the Coffee Creek Baptist Church.

Frailey's Edmond congregation is among more than 1,000 churches involved in the growing movement, Advent Conspiracy. The Web site explains the four key points of Advent Conspiracy: Worship fully, Spend less, Give more and Love all.

"It's crossing a variety of lines because we are remembering what we have in common and it's the story of Jesus and this longing that each of us has to make a difference," said Greg Holder, the Co-Founder of Advent Conspiracy.

So far, the clip promoting the message has more than a million views on YouTube.

"Basically I'm just encouraging take a baby step this year and giving one less gift and channeling that money through an offering that supports several different things and organizations," Pastor Frailey said.

"Well, it's meant a different focus on what Christmas is. Over the years as our grandchildren are growing up, they get more and more into the commercialism aspect of Christmas. It's a way to teach them more about what Christmas is supposed to be," said Ricki Otey, a member of Coffee Creek Baptist Church.

As for Pastor Frailey, he's using this time to challenge his church members not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season.

"When we give to get something back, it's not a gift anymore," Pastor Frailey said. "I think one of the best things is it takes the focus back to the reason for the season, and more than that it helps us do something concrete this time of year."

From the offering collected, each church picks which local organizations to support. Nationally, Advent Conspiracy sends money to drill wells for clean water in Africa.

Learn more about Advent Conspiracy.