Logos Staff
A 2015 study from LifeWay found that 61% of Americans attend church at Christmas time—and even more would come if invited. 1
What an opportunity! Whether your church is meeting in person again or not, you can still take advantage of that opportunity in 2020.
How?
Find out with Faithlife’s free Ultimate Christmas Bundle (Pandemic Edition).
Register for free access to all kinds of goodies, including a live webinar for churches on Tuesday, November 11 from 11:00 to noon (PT). (Can’t make it? Register, and we’ll send you the recording.)
You’ll also get the Ultimate Christmas Countdown Checklist because let’s face it, we all need reminders, and being organized isn’t always easy! See 9 days’ worth of checklist items below. Then pop in your info to get the rest of the checklist and more.
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1. Set the dates, times, and goals (if applicable) for your holiday services. Make sure to pick the date for any Christmas pageants or other special holiday events.
2. Decide which teams you’ll need for the holidays and line up leaders for each team. Schedule planning meetings. Every other Sunday before Christmas is a good rotation.
3. Choose the key passage and theme for each of your holiday services, including Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s.
4. Pick your special offerings and strategic ministry partners for the Christmas season.
Some churches choose a national partner, like Angel Tree or Operation Christmas Child. Others go with a local food bank or homeless shelter. Whatever you go with, make sure to set deadlines and realistic goals that you can communicate with the church as a whole.
5. Order any supplies you’ll need for a candlelight service, Christmas pageant, Thanksgiving dinner, or any other holiday events. While this may seem early, keep in mind that it can take a while for supplies to arrive—and spare yourself the same-day scramble by ordering early.
6. Meet with your holiday team leads after the service. At this meeting, you’ll want to go through service times and dates, themes, and set deadlines for everything else you’ll need before your Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and New Year services.
7. Post the weekend sermon to your church’s podcast. If you’ve had a sermon podcast for a while, you may be missing helpful info on your podcast. Make sure each sermon on your podcast includes the preacher’s name, date, passage, and a link to the study guide (if applicable).
Choose graphics to match the themes for your Thanksgiving and Christmas services. You’ll want to use these in emails, social media, your website, and perhaps even postcards.
8. Review your church’s website from the perspective of a new person. What kinds of questions would they ask? What would confuse them?
Add the dates and times for your Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas services.
Make sure to remove any old or outdated info on the website and double-check that your What to Expect page includes how you’re handling cleanliness and kids’ programming.
9. One huge part of your holiday planning is preparing for year-end giving. Recent stats say as much as 1/3 of all giving comes in during December, and 12% of total giving arrives between December 29–31. Review your church’s online giving platform to make sure your funds look right and work the way you want.
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The checklist guides your church through Christmas preparation and all the way through December 31, so don’t miss it! Sign up to get it—and the rest of the free bundle—today.
- https://lifewayresearch.com/2015/12/14/no-place-like-church-for-the-holidays/, accessed 11/3/2020.
Karen Engle
Brian Collins
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