Advent: A Season of Getting Ready
By Kate Satterstrom
Advent is a season of anticipation, intentional preparation, and holy expectation. Advent invites us to slow down, to make room, and to pay attention to the quiet ways God enters the world.
After the startling visit from an angel, both Mary and Joseph began their own season of getting ready to welcome a new baby. Names were discussed, family was drawn in, and even John leaped in Elizabeth’s womb in anticipation of the coming Savior. Their preparation wasn’t only spiritual; it was physical, emotional, and deeply human. It included a long and tiring journey—on foot and by donkey—to fulfill their census obligations and register with government officials.
And it was on that journey that their season of preparation came to its sacred conclusion. Love—God incarnate—entered the world humbly, in the form of a small child. Wrapped in cloth and held tightly, the newborn Jesus was gazed upon by Mary and Joseph (and by curious, intrusive animals). They memorized the shape of his eyes, the curve of his nose, counted tiny fingers and toes, and breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his first cry.
In this season of Advent, we too wait and prepare, just as those young Galilean parents did leading up to the first Christmas. Our own preparations are filled with traditions—both sacred and secular—that can easily consume our time and attention. As ministry leaders and educators, we often find ourselves juggling the expectations of programming, decorating, lesson planning, and event coordination, all while trying to hold space for the deeper story unfolding in this season. It can be both holy and hectic, sacred and exhausting.
That’s why it’s so important to pause and remember what Advent is truly about: preparing our hearts and communities to encounter God’s love made flesh. It’s about helping others notice the ways Christ is still being born in our midst—in acts of kindness, in moments of stillness, in the faithful work of showing up for one another.
As you prepare for this season of preparation, we’ve gathered resources to help you lead your youth, their families, and your congregation through this humble and hope-filled time of getting ready for Jesus. Inside you’ll find tools designed to help you shape meaningful experiences that ground your community in the wonder and waiting of Advent.
May these resources lighten your load, spark creativity, and remind you that even in the busyness of ministry, God is already at work quietly, lovingly, preparing the way.
About the author:
Kate Satterstrom is the Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministry at First Presbyterian Church, McMinnville, Oregon, Co-Director of the McMinnville Youth Collective, and a board member of the Presbyterian Youth Workers Association. She is passionate about building communities where children and youth know they are loved. Kate grew up in San Diego then attended Purdue University where she received a Bachelor of Art in U.S. history. She went on to graduate from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity and a Master of Art in Youth Ministry. Kate moved to Oregon in 2017 after a decade on the East Coast. She loves to read, work on puzzles, and explore the PNW.