AMAA Christmas Message Reaches Over 10,000 Children in Armenia

PARAMUS, NJ— Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy God’s love and to share that joy with others. Each year, with the support of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) and in collaboration with the Evangelical Church of Armenia (ECA), that joy spreads to thousands of children in Armenia.

The AMAA’s 2025 Christmas Joy Programs were held this year from December 21, 2024, to January 12, 2025. Thousands of children, youth, and adults in different parts of Armenia were presented with an important message, mainly through theatrical performances: the joy of Christmas, calls for change and transformation of the environment, making it more peaceful, harmonious, and bright.

Twenty-two churches of the ECA throughout Armenia prepared Christmas Joy Programs. In 20 of them, the play “Hand in Hand” was staged. Zohrab Bekian wrote the play based on Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.” The ECA’s Christian Education team spared no effort to present the Gospel of the Nativity of Christ in the most accessible, beautiful, and unique way possible. Special attention was paid to the idea that love, and forgiveness can unite people and contribute to positive changes.

As part of the Christmas Joy Programs, 3,200 children and teenagers from Yerevan, Ayntap, and Abovyan gathered at the Hakob Paronyan Theater in Yerevan to watch the play “One Good Deed,” directed by scriptwriter Nune Abrahamyan. For two days, the audience enjoyed the play with professional actors and children from the “Hayasa” theater group in several shifts and learned that one good deed can be contagious and become an occasion for new ones. The performance concluded with the 6th chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, verse 9: “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

More than 10,000 children in 42 locations in Armenia, including 22 border villages, heard, saw, and enjoyed the message of God’s love and Christmas.

All events concluded with a festive surprise. The children took home a small bag of Christmas Joy package, wrapped with warmth and love.

“It is so heartwarming to see so many happy children. A smile on a child’s face is indeed one of the most priceless things in the world,” said Serge D. Buchakjian, AMAA’s newly appointed CEO/Executive Director.

Since the early 1990s, the AMAA’s Christmas Joy Program has brought many smiles and fun celebrations to thousands of children and their families throughout Armenia and to the children of Artsakh and those displaced from Artsakh.