10 Tips for Planning Your Christmas Service

Planning a Christmas service can be overwhelming—especially when Christmas is less than a month away. God’s Word, prayer, and theological convictions should shape the way you plan your Christmas services, but there are practical considerations as well. If you’re looking for fresh ideas to make your Christmas services great, you’ve come to the right place.

We’ll even help you liven your church presentation with these awesome free slides from Proclaim.

Here are 10 practical ideas to consider when planning your Christmas services.

Play to your strengths

Are you part of a musical church? Host a Christmas concert! Do people at your church enjoy acting? Put on a theatrical performance! Identify what your church is good at and plan accordingly. If your church is not full of musicians or actors, host a Christmas party for the community or a Christmas dinner.

Plan special services

Consider hosting special services on key days throughout the Christmas season. In my experience Christmas Eve services are great opportunities for community outreach. Families that might not otherwise attend a church service are looking for opportunities to to be together on that special night. Your church service could be the thing to bring them together, and give you an opportunity to share the gospel with them.

Rehearse

Nerves will be higher than usual for everyone involved, so make sure to run things over plenty of times beforehand. Rehearsing transitions between service sections is often overlooked but more often than not where things go awry.

Take care of the kids

People spend Christmas with family so provide childcare if possible. This will make it easier for parents with small children to attend. It will also help minimize distractions during your service.

Invite the community

Have a plan for inviting people to your Christmas service and share that plan with your congregation. People are more willing to go to church during the Christmas season, so take advantage of that. People are also more likely to accept an invitation from someone they know, so encourage your congregation to reach out to their friends, family, neighbors, and anyone else within their realm of influence.

Make it special but not unusual

Outfit the outside of the church, the foyer, and the stage or platform with Christmas-themed decor. Play Christmas music as people are coming in but make sure the service is also representative of your regular weekend service. Use the Christmas service to give people an idea of how services go every weekend and encourage them to return the following week.

Greet and connect

Make sure your greeting team is extra friendly and have a quick time of greeting during the service. Encourage your congregation to say hello to someone they’ve never met. This is a great opportunity to make people feel welcome and form a great first impression. But don’t just stop there. Have a way to connect with newcomers after service. Create an environment that encourages people to visit. Set up some tables, chairs, and provide snacks. Have a team that facilitates conversation and connects with visitors.

Keep it short

Commit to a service length and follow through. One hour is usually plenty of time for a Christmas service—especially with a lot of visitors in the audience. Respect their time and visitors will be more likely to make time to come back the following week.

Give people a reason to come back

Don’t limit your planning to the Christmas service; plan for the following Sunday too. You have the attention of a lot of new people, so give them a reason to come back. Talk about your next sermon series, discuss the new children’s program, or reveal a glimpse of what your church plans to do next year.

Use Christmas sermon and song slides

Give your church presentation a Christmas feel with these awesome free slides from Proclaim.

Did I miss anything? Feel free to add your thoughts below.