5 Ways to Make the Most Out of Your Christmas Services

1. Just Be Yourself

If you think the main goal of your Christmas service is to become appealing to the unchurched, I would argue that you are already off base. It’s really a no-win situation. If you win them with your stellar Christmas services, but your worship gatherings look nothing like the rest of the year, you’ll only disappoint. You’ll have to keep it up and eventually become someone you aren’t. And if they end up rejecting your schtick, it’s not even you they’re rejecting.

Might it be better to think of our Christmas services as having the same fundamental purpose that every service should have throughout the year—a gathering of believers to worship the King of kings. It’s fine to “put your best foot forward.” If Elliot shows up in pajama pants, a mustard-stained t-shirt, and his hair unkempt, it’d communicate a lack of concern. It’s okay to show excitement and welcoming to new visitors. But really, shouldn’t this be who we are every week?

The first step to making the most of your Christmas services is to relax and be yourself. Your primary goal is to point to Jesus and honor Him, just like every other week of the year. Don’t lose sight of this.

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2. Pastors, Don’t Exhaust Your Staff and Volunteers

I don’t mean here that we shouldn’t work really hard to make sure our church is welcoming and that our worship shows the beauty of the advent season. No, there should be plenty of sweat in our preparation and execution. But I know some pastors who are a frantic mess during the holiday season. Tension fills the room, the importance of the season swallowing the personhood of everyone present.

You know how people get really stressed out about making sure their kids have a great Christmas? And do you know how shopping during the holidays can be very unpleasant because everyone is stressed out? You don’t want your church to give off those vibes. The best way to keep from doing that, apart from tyrannically creating hypocrites, is to lead by serving and encouraging. Remember why you are doing what you are doing, help staff and volunteers not lose sight of that.

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3. Center the Message on Christ

If you’ve heard the Christmas story over and over and over again, you might be tempted to switch it up this year. We want to do something creative. Nobody wants to go to another stale Christmas pageant, sing tired Christmas carols, and hear someone read from Luke 2. We also don’t want those who only hear Christmas and Easter messages to hear the same message each year. We want to give them something new.

Perhaps the new Christmas movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, might give us a new perspective. In the movie, a historically stale Christmas pageant is overtaken by the most troubled kids in town. With motivations no purer than wanting cake and cookies, they bullied their way into leading roles. As they learn their roles, and learn the Christmas story, they are captivated by its meaning. That is the lesson for us. The Christmas story itself is captivating. We don’t need to spice it up. The gospel message, simple and unadorned, is the power of God for salvation.

If you’re trying to “hook” people with anything, let it be the gospel itself. That baby in the manger is the One who can transform any heart that is present in your Christmas service. And He does it through the humble proclamation of the unchanging gospel. Whether it be the choir’s rendition of O Holy Night or a candlelight show featuring Silent Night, it all needs to be centered upon Jesus. That’s where the power for your Christmas services comes from.

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4. Be Sensible to Outsiders

I am a firm believer that the gathering of the local church is fundamentally about equipping the saints. But we also don’t want to be unsensible to the community joining our gathering—especially during the holiday season. We want to be careful not to speak insider language. Don’t assume knowledge of the Christmas story. Don’t speak in Christian jargon.

When it comes to things like music, my guess is that many of the people in the community have heard Christmas carols. Sing them. But sing them with a different heart. Sing them like they are more than carols, because that is what they are. Perhaps put a new twist on familiar songs. There is a song by Sovereign Grace Music entitled O Come, All You Unfaithful. Songs like this will connect with those familiar with O Come, All Ye Faithful and yet will pack a powerful gospel punch. But for the most part, stick to the basics. This is the one week out of the year when the world knows our songs. Bridge the gap. Focus the service on worshipping the risen Christ, encourage believers with the meaning of advent, and be sensible and compelling to those who are not familiar with the message.

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5. Consider a Strategy for Welcome and Return

You will almost certainly have guests for your Christmas services. Think about how you might begin the process of welcoming them through online engagement. Don’t just give people a simple invitation, let them know what to expect. Consider doing a video walkthrough of your building. Knock down some of the hurdles of fear that might keep someone from attending.

Expect visitors and train greeters. Think about your signage. Walk through everything as if you are a first-time visitor. I like to think of this simply as hospitality. What do you do when somebody comes to your house for the first time? Do the same thing when somebody comes to church for the first time. Make it a warm reception.

It’s also important to think about their potential return. You want them to come back next week. Our hope is that they’ll be captivated by the message of Jesus. It’s also possible that this might take some time. Perhaps they need to build some more relationships with others. What are the next things you can invite them to? Do you have a small group you could invite them to? Do you have a New Year’s Eve celebration? Think about the next steps for your visitors. Give them welcome bags but also a personal invitation to things.

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Conclusion

I hope you didn’t notice that I didn’t really give incredibly specific advice about Christmas services. You could change some of the illustrations and discover that these are basic steps that you ought to be doing every Sunday. Well, that’s intentional. Advent is a terrific time of year. It’s a natural time for us to focus on the wonder of the birth of Christ. And it has built within it so many bridges to the gospel. And people will come to your church that don’t normally come.

Christmas is an exciting time. But I also want to sit Elliot down and tell him to chill out and just be himself. If she likes him, she likes him. If she doesn’t, try another time. What we have that Elliot doesn’t have is the Holy Spirit who is working and wooing hearts to come to Christ. Shine a spotlight on Jesus, and the Spirit will show up.

How do you make the most of the Christmas season in your church? I guess my simplest answer would be to get out of the way and clear a path for the Lord. Or to use the language of Scripture, “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God…” (Isaiah 40:3).

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