Each Christmas we’re treated to some delightfully creative and engaging videos that help us share and encourage us with the Christian message.

I wonder if this year, because we’ve all had to become accustomed to doing a lot more ‘online stuff’, perhaps there’s less of these short ‘viral videos’ doing the rounds than previous years. But either way, there’s still some gems – and they’re perfect for sharing on social media, or playing as part of a carol service (online or physical!) or at an online school assembly.

Here’s the ones I’ve come across that are new this year – but what have I missed? Many of these you can download through Go Chatter, an online hub of bitesize videos that get people talking about Jesus. I’ve include the relevant download links below each video. You can read my previous interview with Go Chatter’s Digital Evangelist, Dan Rackham, here.

1) Let Me Go There – Speak Life

Powerful dramatisation of the R.S. Thomas poem. More connected resources, including an ‘Explainer’ video can be downloaded here.

2) The Lonely Dinosaur – Co-Mission

Definitely going for the John Lewis ad feel, and engaging with the distancing & loneliness that many have faced these past few months, and ultimately reminding us that Emmanuel means God is with us.

3) 12 Dais of Christmas – Dai Wooldridge

Dai gives a playful parody of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’, with a profound message of hope: a baby born in the mess, for our mess (if your internet connection looks unstable – fear not, it may just be part of the video!).

4) How’s Your Hope? – St George’s Leeds

Hope is the big theme of 2020. I love what St George’s Leeds have done here.

5) Comfort & Joy – Church of England

Feature video for the C of E’s national campaign, ‘Comfort & Joy’, and narrated by Great British Bake-Off Contestant Martha Collison. ‘A Church Near You’ Editors can log into the Resource Hub, to access customisable videos and other content, here.

6) Christmas As We Once Knew It – Intro Outro

I think this is one of my favourite new entries this year. Really nicely done.

7) The Starting Line – Christians in Sport

Clever animation from CiS: “The starting line is a line in time… it’s where the divine became human, where God made himself visible and invites us back to him.” Will you follow him?

8) Not Just a Baby – Roarlight

I think this was around last year, but I seem to have missed it. Powerful spoken-word piece. This video isn’t free to download.

9) 4 Carols 4 Christmas

This project is releasing a fresh arrangement of a carol and a thought for the day each Tuesday evening in December. You can see their website here.

10) What Child Is This? – Full of Eyes

Simple visual portrayal of Christ, reflecting on the significance of the identity and mission of this child.

11) The Best We Could Hope For – Grosvenor Rd Baptist

Really good example of asking a perceptive question: ‘what is it we’re hoping for amidst all of this?’.

12) It Begins in Bethlehem – Bible Society

With a voiceover from Bob Hartman and showcasing great illustrations by Mark Beech, this goes alongside the Bible Society’s Christmas book.

13) God With Us in 2020 – Faith in Kids

The Faith in Kids team are underlining the wonderful truth of ‘God with us’ with a fun baking theme, playing into their Bake-Along event happening on Saturday 12th December.

14) Why believe the Christmas Story – Share These

Narrated by Michael Tinker, this is a new video resource from Share These, the video

Download it here.

15) The Christmas Story in Lego – Kiri & Steve

This is lots of fun – and very creative! Does what it says on the tin…

16) The First Christmas Song – Michael Tinker & Alison Brewis

Michael Tinker sets to music Alison Brewis’ simple retelling of the first Christmas song of Mary, the angels and Simeon, rejoicing in the birth of God’s King. Beautifully animated – perfect for assemblies, etc. Could this be your song too? This video isn’t free to download.

17) Christmas Coronavirus Poem – The Bible Applied

Powerful and simple poem from The Bible Applied focusing on the story of a young girl contemplating the loss – and faith – of her Grandma.

18) Share The Light – CPOresources

Featuring ex-Delirious? front-man, this, from resources company CPO, reflects on practical ways we can ‘share the light’.

19) Waiting for a King – EngageWorship

This is part of a series of resources from EngageWorship’s Worship in the Waiting project for Advent, which are available here.

Or… maybe you’d like to include a song video? I’ve blogged about 5 New Songs for Advent & Christmas 2020 here – and they’re well suited to sharing and using in carol services, etc.

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What did I miss? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below!

Want more? Have a look at the archives from previous years below:

Christmas & Advent Videos for 2019

Christmas & Advent Videos for 2018

Christmas & Advent Videos for 2017

Christmas & Advent Videos for 2016

Christmas & Advent Videos for 2015

Christmas & Advent Videos for 2014

Christmas & Advent Videos for 2013

Seven up…

1) Home for Christmas – Phil Moore & team have put together an excellent resource here. The Home for Christmas project is a set of high definition, high-quality videos of carols and contemporary Christmas Christian songs that can be downloaded and used in Carol Services (physical or online), as well as Bible readings and a guest-friendly talk from Roger Carswell. Similarly, St Helen’s Bishopsgate have produced ‘Christmas in a Box’, a collection of videos to create your own bespoke carol service, including talks, carols (tending to have a more classical feel compared to H4C) and more.

2) Go Chatter Customisable Christmas Videos – The Go Chatter team have produced a series of customisable video invites to use on social media, etc, this Christmas. They look great, are easy to make, and are a bargain! In fact, this one is even free!

3) ‘Children ripping bags open for food’ – This BBC report from Burnley is desperately sad, highlighting how the poorest communities have been hit hardest during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report features two clergy as they respond to this poverty. Stephen Kneale, who ministers in nearby Oldham, reminds us that our reaction as Christians should be more than simply a temporary emotional response of the moment.

4) Free Audiobook: Christmas Playlist by Alistair Begg – This month ChristianAudio’s free audiobook is this engaging and evangelistic book by Alistair Begg, which picks out four songs that were sung by people at the very first Christmas and unpacks the true meaning of Christmas.

5) Christmas Bake-Along – Next Saturday at 2pm, Faith in Kids will broadcast a bake-along video featuring former Great British Bake-Off contestant Martha Collison, who will guiding families through baking gingerbread men & women. This realtime baking lesson will be interspersed with short all age talks explaining the reason for the season. Why not deliver all the ingredients needed to your friends and invite them to join this all age bake-along experience.

6) Is Christianity Good for Women? by Passion for Evangelism – I really appreciated catching up on this last week. Passion for Evangelism is a network of female evangelists who would like to grow in communicating the good news of Jesus Christ. This online event featured three speakers, Abi Marthinet-Glover, Gabrielle Samuel, Ellidh Cook, who spoke into the question of whether a religion sometimes labelled as sexist, misogynistic, and patriarchal can have anything good to say to 21st century women.

7) Hope Christmas Gets You To Me – Well, this is delightful. Two Glasgow-based teachers have produced perhaps the unexpected Christmas song of the year. As one of them put it, ‘We really hope that we’ve captured something hopeful that chimes with people despite the sadness of this Christmas, and the huge challenges of the year’. As of yesterday it was #8 on Amazon Music and #99 on iTunes, which is pretty remarkable with no marketing. Why not go buy the song here?

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And if you’re looking for a little bit of Hope in the Darkness, each Tuesday evening in December on Facebook Live we’re exploring one of the four titles given to Jesus in Isaiah 9. It’s a simple format: an interview, a song and a thought for the day. Last week I chatted to my friend Tony Ford on the theme of ‘Mighty God’.

Finally, some news from us:

And if you’re looking for Week 2 of Dr Luke Investigates Christmas, check it out here!

Sharing is caring. Know someone who might find these links a blessing? Why not forward it on?

There’s some delightful new Christian songs that have been written for Advent & Christmas this year. Here’s five that I love!

1) Maker, Made A Child by Emu Music

This is stunning. Classic Emu. Download a lyric video here.

2) Comfort and Joy by Joyful Noise

Picking up on the Church of England’s Advent & Christmas theme, the Brewster brothers have knocked it out of the park here. Download it here.

3) Joy (As Far as the Curse is Found) by Caroline Cobb

Really enjoying Caroline’s music over the last two years. Her new album is well worth checking out, and this is one of my faves with it’s super-catchy chorus.

4) O Come, All You Unfaithful by Sovereign Grace Music

I flagged this up a few weeks ago in the Refill. Really timely lyrics. And the video is very moving – most of the individuals or groups filmed were listening for the first time and were facing different challenges at the time.

5) When the Word of God by Phil Moore (Home for Christmas)

Phil Moore has put together the Home for Christmas project, which you should definitely check out.

Do you have a new favourite Advent or Christmas song that has recently emerged?