A. Merril Smoak Jr. says we must reclaim the power of the public reading of Scripture.

“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.”

If you think about it, the phrase “the first day of Christmas” suggests that there must be a second or third day of Christmas and maybe even more days of Christmas. As worship planners we should think of Christmas as a season of several days that begins on Christmas Eve and ends sometime before New Year’s Day.

Modern-day consumerism promotes Christmas as a gift-giving season that begins in early November and concludes with the day after Christmas sales. Historically, Christmas Day is a specific date each year to celebrate the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. Theologically, Christmas teaches us about the incarnation, God Himself becoming human flesh to redeem His creation. Early Western church tradition has Christmas beginning on Dec. 25 and concluding on Jan. 5 – the 12 days of Christmas (begin your counting with Dec. 25). Jan. 6 is Epiphany, the day to celebrate the coming of the magi as recorded in Matthew 2.

For worship leaders, the Christmas season has always demanded our best worship planning. It is a joyous time of Christ-centered celebration. As our society and culture continue to secularize this Christian holiday, we must intensify our December worship plans. For most of us, this will include special worship plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day when it falls on a Sunday, and the Sunday after Christmas.

Christmas Eve worship
Christmas Eve worship is prime time to simply tell the nativity story and sing familiar Christmas carols in a setting of awe and mystery. During the past 24 days most churches have elaborately rehearsed the Christmas traditions through children’s musicals, Christmas pageants, singing Christmas trees, and even live drive-through nativity scenes. The importance of these performances should not be underestimated. But after the December Christmas rush, maybe we need Christmas Eve worship that is quiet and serene to once again remind us of God’s love that came through the Child of Bethlehem.

Simply tell the birth story through Scripture reading. Let one child read the Matthew account and another child read the Luke account. Ask a grandfather to read these Bible stories while sitting in a rocking chair with the children from the congregation seated on the floor around him. Visually enhance the Scripture reading with a nativity scene on a table on the stage, or have several nativity sets displayed around the worship space.

The reading of the Christmas story may seem too simplistic after our Christmas musicals and pageants, but we must reclaim the power of the public reading of Scripture. Paul reminded Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of scripture” (1 Tim. 4:13, NASB). When we publicly read these familiar Scripture verses, we remind our Christmas Eve worshipers that they are a part of God’s story of creation, incarnation, and re-creation. Robert Webber reminds us that we must live in God’s story, not the world’s story: “In the incarnation, God unites with our humanity in Jesus Christ … Reflection on the incarnation and its connection to every aspect of God’s story is the missing link in today’s theological reflection and worship.”

The singing of traditional Christmas carols is another way for individuals to embrace the Christmas narrative on Christmas Eve. Adults must not grow weary of singing these classic carols. These words and melodies must be passed on to our children and grandchildren. Think about it. Do you want your children and grandchildren to think that the only Christmas songs are “Jingle Bells” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”? You must sing the Christmas carols for them and with them. Through singing these carols, the details and theology of the Bethlehem birth become a part of our thinking and our lifestyle.

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Unchurched people are very receptive to coming to church during this time.

Plan for these important, but sometimes overlooked, elements of welcoming on Christmas Eve:

1. Remind the congregation to greet old friends, who may be home for the holidays, AFTER they practice the “Rule of Three.” (The “Rule of Three” covers the first three minutes after the service ends – a prime time for newcomers to dash for the door. Talk only to people you don’t know during those three minutes, so you can welcome a newcomer before he or she leaves.) In the welcoming congregation, old friends will understand the importance of making new friends and will wait to be addressed. Learn more about welcoming new visitors in our article: “Roll out the welcome mat this Christmas.”
2. Enlist parking attendants to serve that night and help manage the traffic. Newcomers will be especially unsure of where to park and how to get inside.
3. Remember to schedule ushers and greeters to serve on Christmas Eve.
4. Schedule childcare helpers! Remember to mention childcare in your publicity and your evening worship program.
5. If your church office closes early for the holiday, ask some loyal volunteers to answer the phones that afternoon and evening. People without a church home may decide at the last minute to get out to worship that night.

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Sharefaith offers ideas for the best Christmas celebration you’ve ever had.

If your church celebrates a Christmas service, you can make use of these 10 points to achieve the best Christmas celebration you have ever had.

1. Plan Well: Most churches have already started preparations and planning for their upcoming Christmas service. Assign key people that can help you manage, multitask and take the project from conception to completion. Make sure to cover all areas and keep all involved parties informed at all times. Make sure to advertise your event well ahead of time through your website, Facebook and flyers.

2. Focus on Christ: It’s so easy to get sidetracked by pretty stage decor. Keep this celebration pointing to Jesus Christ as Savior and King. Have every event, song or scripture point to Jesus alone!

3. Bring a Salvation Message: Never forget that your calling is to share the Good News. Make use of every opportunity and, especially, your Christmas service, to do just that! Bring hope to people by pointing to the only true source of Hope, Jesus Christ!

4. Include all ages of the church-family. Get away from having your worship team be the performers of the evening. Instead, assign small events to each ministry department and have them all contribute to your overall Christmas program.

5. Show favoritism to visitors: Assign a special VIP section in the middle of the church just for visitors. That will make them feel extra special and prevent your usual members from taking the best seats in the house!

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Dan Daley says streaming around holidays offers a multitude of benefits.

Holidays are about more of everything. Everything, that is, except time. Some churches that have embraced streaming as a way to extend their reach are also realizing that more of it might just be the way to address some of the time pressures that come with holiday periods. At the same time, they’re also finding that expanding their streamed offerings can have a raft of other benefits that last far longer than the last bit of eggnog.

Trinity Lutheran Church of Clinton Township, MI has streamed its regular Sunday services for well over a year, but live-streams several additional events at Christmas, including its unique “Blue Christmas” event, a streamed service aimed at those who have lost loved ones or jobs in the last year and who might not be in the mood to venture out during a festive holiday.

“Not everyone is happy at that time of year, so it’s a way to reach out and remind people who are hurting about going to God for support,” explains Paul Finazzo, minister of worship and music at Trinity Lutheran. “When you think about it, streaming something like that during the holidays is the best way to reach certain people.”

Increased Presence in the Community
Shawn West, a managing partner at Worship Channels, a Spokane area-based developer and marketer of online live streaming tools for churches, says extending the amount of streaming that churches normally do around holidays offers a range of advantages. “The holidays are a period when no one has any time and they’re often caught between conflicting demands,” he says, such as church choir shows and school pageants taking place on the same nights. “Streaming events in addition to the usual Sunday services gives people options that they appreciate,” particularly if events that they cannot attend in person are also made available on demand after the fact.

West, who has been advising houses of worship on streaming technologies for the past four years, says extending streaming beyond Sunday services around holidays increases a church’s presence in the community and mindshare in a competitive environment, as well as helping communicate a church’s particular message. And as weather becomes more volatile, additional streaming of events helps keep people connected while also keeping them safely at home when weather turns bad. But as importantly, he notes, it’s also shown to have a positive correlation on financial donations to churches as a result.

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