4 Thoughts on Christmas Services: Don’t Be Afraid to Play the Hits!

1. Tell the Christmas Story. Not the one with the leg lamp, the one with the virgin birth of the Savior of the world. People never get tired of hearing that story. I understand you’ve preached it every year for the past ten years. Preach it again. Get creative with it. Tell it in a different way. Tell it from the sheep’s standpoint.
2. Keep it Traditional. If you’ve been following this blog for very long, you know that I’m not a fan of tradition. Except when it comes to Christmas. I already encouraged you to stick to the Christmas story. I also want to encourage you to sing Christmas music like Silent Night, Angels We Have Heard on High, Little Drummer Boy. Don’t be afraid to play all the hits. This is the one time of year you can get away with it.
3. Include the Kids. If you’re a smaller church in a small town, find a way to involve the kids in the service. Let them sing a song, read a scripture, dress up like a donkey. Whatever it takes to get their family to invite others to come see them. This is a great way to boost your attendance. Keep in mind, as your church grows larger, it’s going to become harder to do this. So, don’t start something you’re not able to stop. I’ve given you fair warning.
4. What about the Day? Do what works best for your church. If your people expect and will show up to a Christmas Eve service, offer one. If they won’t, then don’t. Do it on a day they will attend. In the church I serve, we avoid having services on December 24th and 25th. Why? Because people are celebrating Christmas at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s on those days. So, we’ll have church services on the 23rd or the 22nd, or anytime other than Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But “Church Growth Expert” said we should maximize Christmas Eve. “Church Growth Expert” doesn’t know the culture of your community. You do. So do what works best for you.

Read the original, full post by Travis Stephens.