In a world where advertisers are constantly pushing the envelope in a vie for consumers' attention, one Auckland, New Zealand billboard is generating a whole lot of controversy, but the church behind the sign says its all in the name of Christmas.

St Matthews-in-the-City Church of New Zealand created a billboard with an image of Jesus' mother Mary. One hand covers her mouth and the other holds a modern-day pregnancy test revealing that she is with-child. Her eyes display a look of shock. 

The church says that the wordless billboard is not supposed to tell people what to think. Rather, the idea behind it is to engage people with the real meaning behind Christmas and the birth of Jesus. 

In a statement, the church says that Mary was poor, young and unmarried and that the pregnancy was sure to shape her future. It says that she wasn't the first woman in this situation, nor the last, and the billboard aims to depict her "real anxiety, courage and hope." The church says that Christmas is about a real pregnancy, a real mother and a real child.  

The vicar responsible for the image, Glynn Cardy, wants those who view it to think compassionately about people in a similar situation. He encourages viewers to create their own caption for the image and post it on the church's website and Facebook page. 

So far, there has been a lot of positive feedback but there have also been many enraged individuals, who view the image as a personal assault to their faith. 

It's obvious that matters of faith are very sensitive, but I have to say that, despite the many very loud and very hateful responses, the questioning and discussions that the billboard generates will do this church much more good than harm. 

If a church is really going to connect with a new generation of followers, it needs to encourage people to ask questions that may be controversial, and the church needs to be comfortable with providing answers in a context that people can understand. This church recognizes that blind faith doesn't appeal to everyone.

Younger generations have been and continue to be encouraged to question everything, and they aren't afraid of doing so, as previous generations have been.  

Whereas questioning used to be seen as blasphemous and doubt was seen as a lack of faith and character, this church understands that an approach to religion based off of fear and control no longer works as well as it used to.  Instead, it sees how questioning is key to the learning process and leads to answers that are more personal, intimate and lasting. 

By depicting the story of Jesus' birth in a modern context, St Matthews-in-the-City Church also makes Mary's story all the more relatable. Just as a young, unwed girl today would have a hard time absorbing the reality of a pregnancy and everything it entails, this church is trying to show that a young, unwed girl 2000 years ago would have also had a difficult time, and in doing so, it's pushing for people to show some humanity for those in a similar situation. As seen from the many negative comments on the church's website and Facebook page, there are many a Christian who preach compassion but don't act on it, or when they do, unfortunately it's conditional. 

I really think the church's billboard is a refreshing approach to the Christmas season that will undoubtedly strike a chord with many people.