articles

10 Rules for Keeping Christmas Simple

The holiday season is a hectic time for church leadership. In our well-intentioned efforts to make Advent extra special, we often overextend ourselves and our teams. Is the excessive stress worth it? Jon Nicol offers practical advice – both “do’s” and “don’ts” – for keeping things simple so Christmas stays…

Christmas Eve on Sunday: The Big Opportunity

Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year – don’t scale back, go bigger! With holiday-minded guests and wandering prodigals likely attending in greater numbers, this rare alignment is a pivotal chance to make welcoming hospitality your best investment. Keep services short and encouraging, solve scheduling dilemmas simply, and leverage…

How A Worship Service Is Like A Meal

Think of planning a worship service like crafting a well-balanced meal – the songs are the courses, each with a unique flavor and purpose. Fill up on Christmas songs alone and you miss the main dishes of declaration and surrender. This year, limit holiday tunes to just a few per…

Getting and Keeping Volunteers for Christmas

Christmas services require extra volunteers, but relying solely on your regular team may leave you shorthanded. Deborah Ike is here to help. She offers practical strategies for recruiting the helpers you’ll need, from identifying roles to personal invites and follow-ups. Feed volunteers and send handwritten notes afterwards to show appreciation.…

Embrace Tradition for Your Christmas Celebration

Zip up your ugly Christmas sweater and cozy up to tradition this season. When it comes to the holidays, people crave the classic – timeless tunes, candles aglow, familiar phrases from Luke. So embrace what they expect. There’s power in keeping things simple. Don’t reinvent the manger scene – let…

Deeper Worship With Christmas Hymns

Christmas means tradition. This year, gift your congregation the nostalgic, soul-stirring worship experience they crave by embracing classic Christmas hymns. Reintroduce timeless carols that connect generations and tap into warm holiday memories. Modernize the melodies if you’d like, but retain the familiar lyrics that tell the Christmas story in a…

[PODCAST] Christmas Eve is on a Sunday in 2023. What Should My Church Do?

The calendar offers churches a great opportunity to reach more people on Christmas Eve in 2023. On this episode of the Church Answers Podcast, Thom Rainer discusses how the church can make a few great decisions to make it evangelistically effective this year. Listen to the podcast.

5 Surprising Ways Churches Are Increasing Attendance

While most churches have seen declines since the pandemic, a few outlier congregations are bucking the trend with surprising practices that are increasing attendance. Find five unorthodox methods these churches are using to grow against the current. From strategically subtracting and adding ministries, to consistent invitation campaigns, to starting new…

Streaming Christmas Programs and Worship Services

Explore the best streaming license options for churches this Christmas season. Streaming your holiday events and services can help maximize your reach and impact at this special time of year. The article looks at a variety of factors to help you share your message as broadly as possible. With the…

10 Ways To Improve Your Worship Team (2/4)

Worship bands rely heavily on great charts to aid their musicians and singers during rehearsals and services. This article explores the importance of high-quality charts and arranging for worship music. Find pros and cons of different charting formats, from basic lyric and chord sheets to fully notated arrangements. Excellent charts…

Worship Leader’s Guide to Christmas Planning

The Christmas season will be here before we know it, which means it’s time for worship leaders to start planning meaningful Advent and Christmas worship sets. Getting a head start on song selection, special musical elements, team schedules, and Christmas Eve services is a wise way to go. This article…

The 4 Boxes Your Christmas Service Must Check Off

Planning Christmas services requires intentionally considering all who will attend. People come from different places spiritually – seasoned believers, new believers, nonbelievers, and struggling believers. Catering only to one group can alienate others. It’s important to remind seasoned believers of the wonder of Christ through stories of God’s past faithfulness.…

Ways Churches Can Use ChatGPT and AI

ChatGPT and AI are revolutionizing how churches interact and engage with congregations. Immense possibilities are being opened by these technologies – from streamlining communication to providing spiritual guidance! Church leaders can learn how to leverage ChatGPT’s natural language capabilities to create more personalized, convenient experiences for members. Learn: An overview…

Why Nobody Wants to Work at a Church Anymore

A crisis is brewing as fewer young people want to work at churches anymore. Between ministry pressures, church hurt, hypocrisy, and abundant new job options, interest is waning. Toxic culture and low pay are also big, yet overlooked factors driving next-gen leaders away. This article explores why these issues are…

Is Passing the Offering Plate Dead?

The tradition of passing the offering plate during services is rapidly fading in churches today. While some traditionalists prefer this symbolic act, fewer and fewer churches have kept the practice in recent years. What factors are driving this major shift and what does it mean for the future? Learn about…

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