Wednesday Wisdom | Fostering Advent Collaborations to Build Christian Community Online

We live in a digital world that benefits from community and collaboration.

Advent has always been a season of gathering around tables, around candles, and around stories of hope breaking into the world. In recent years, more and more believers have found themselves gathering online, while discovering that digital spaces can blossom into sacred spaces when approached with both intention and grace.

I’ve learned from experience that an Advent blogging collaboration is one of the most beautiful ways this happens.

When writers share reflections, prayers, art, Scripture meditations, and stories in concert with one another, a sense of Christian community emerges that is organic, relational, and deeply encouraging.

Let’s explore a few suggestions about how to intentionally foster Advent collaborations to build a genuine Christian online community.

Start With Shared Purpose, Not Perfect Plans

In his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey suggested beginning with the end in mind. To begin with the end in mind means to start any action, project, or season by clarifying the ultimate goal, purpose, or outcome you want to move toward and then letting that vision shape every step you take along the way.

The most meaningful collaborations don’t begin with rigid rules. They begin with shared longing. People are hungry for God. As a collective of Christian bloggers, we hope to glorify God and draw people’s hearts and minds to Him. That’s what our project ADVENT2025 is all about.

During Advent, our longing is universal:

• to slow down
• to pay attention
• to prepare room
• to rekindle hope

When bloggers gather around a shared purpose, their posts naturally resonate with one another. You don’t need a big structure.

Personally, I’ve learned that a central theme and a willingness to show up together is more than enough.

Invite Participation, Not Performance

One blessing of Advent is its gentleness. The season invites us into reflection, not perfection. It’s less about doing and more about being.

When extending the invitation to collaborate:

• welcome writers of all experience levels
• encourage authenticity
• normalize imperfection
• celebrate voice over polish

This lowers anxiety and opens the door for quieter or emerging writers to join in. Community grows best in spaces where people don’t feel like they must earn their place. It should be a joyful work unto the Lord.

I believe we are managing to do this through our collective collaboration during this Advent season.

Create Simple Ways for People to Connect

Make it easy for readers and writers to find one another.

A few simple practices go a long way:

• Use a shared hashtag (Advent2025, ChristianBloggerCollab, etc.)
• Create a central page or weekly roundup linking participants.
• Tag fellow bloggers when you share their posts.
• Leave thoughtful comments, not just likes.
• End each post with a link to another writer in the collaboration.

Every link becomes a bridge. Every mention encourages a traveler to explore a new path.

Amplify Diverse Voices Within the Body of Christ

Christian community deepens when multiple perspectives are welcomed at the table.

Advent collaborations are enriched when contributors bring:

• theological reflections
• visual art
• poems
• photography
• pastoral insights
• personal stories
• laments and longings

This diversity doesn’t dilute the message. It multiplies it! Readers discover interpretations of hope and waiting that speak uniquely to their own stories.

Make Room for Conversation, Not Just Content

A collaboration becomes a community when the posts turn into dialogue.

Encourage conversation by:

• asking reflective questions in your post
• responding to comments with intention
• sharing others’ work with short notes about why it impacted you
• hosting a weekly “check-in” post or perhaps even a livestream (the possibilities are virtually endless)
• inviting participants to share what Advent is stirring in them

People stay where they feel seen. I know this from personal experience.

Practice Generosity. Link Often and Celebrate Loudly!

Friends, community grows where generosity flows!

During Advent:

• share others’ posts even more than your own
• publicly celebrate great writing
• highlight lesser-known bloggers
• express gratitude for each contribution

When you model generosity, others follow. And the community becomes a place of encouragement rather than comparison.

Carry the Spirit Beyond Christmas

The collaboration may be centered on Advent, but the relationships don’t have to end when the candles go out.

Carry the spirit forward by:

• hosting monthly themed collaborations
• gathering writers for seasonal reflections (Lent, Easter, Pentecost)
• creating a private online group for ongoing encouragement
• continuing to link to each other’s work throughout the year

Community rooted in Advent can become a rhythm of year-round fellowship.

The Fruit of Advent Collaboration

When Christian bloggers gather with sincerity and humility, something holy happens. Voices begin to harmonize.
Stories find resonance. Isolated writers feel less alone. Readers discover depth, beauty, and belonging.

In a season defined by anticipation, we also witness fulfillment; God forming community in places we never expected.

Advent collaborations don’t just produce content. They cultivate communion.

And in an online world desperately hungry for authenticity and connection, that may be one of the most powerful gifts we can offer each other.

If you’re interested in joining us on our ADVENT2025 quest, please feel free to do so. The idea is simply to magnify and glorify Christ as we point people to Him. We’d love to have you share your Advent thoughts and experiences with us. Please be sure to tag your posts with ADVENT2025. There is plenty of room at the table.

Participating Bloggers include:
Bridget A. Thomas – Every Day Is A Gift
Loring Schultz  – Word For The Soul
Alan Kearns – Devotional Treasure
Nathan R Dooley – Time For Providence
David Duncan – David’s Daily Dose
Cindi West – God Still Speaks
Barb Hegreberg – My Life in our Father’s World
Rainer Bantau – The Devotional Guy™

Until my next post…

Be salty, stay lit.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™

You can now find my articles in The Christian Grandfather Magazine.

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