You stand twenty-four hours away from Christmas Eve 2020 at the writing of this post. Millions of people will stand together to celebrate the coming of Jesus to the world. As a church leader, you probably have a three-page to-do list ahead of you to minister to your community in this holiday season.
Pause for a moment. You have walked through the Christmas season amid a pandemic and social distancing. The 2020 Christmas celebration has brought a host of complexities, anxieties, and an extra detail level.
Here’s the good news – if you can plan a meaningful Christmas this year, then you have the grit for 2021.
You have an unbelievable opportunity to make the most of Christmas 2021 by reflecting on your experiences in 2020. Church leaders have bought the lie that the Christmas season will mean extra levels of exhaustion and anxiety.
Pandemic or not, Christmas takes place on December 25th every year. That means you can do your best to alleviate some of the unforeseen emergencies to have a better season for yourself, church staff, volunteers, and even the church family.
Now is the perfect time for you to begin to outline how Christmas can become more significant in 2021 than in 2020.
I want to offer you a timeline of planning Christmas that you can start to consider right now for the church you serve:
Debrief the last Christmas (January-February)
Set the meeting with the leadership team. Look at the data beyond attendance, like people responding to follow Jesus, social media posts, and follow-up areas. Engage the core leaders, staff, elders, and volunteers at the church. I think it’s critical in the days and weeks following Christmas to discover the coming areas of growth and what went well. You could send out a survey or ask what worked and what did not work. You want to get the information as fresh as possible.
Decide on the components that will remain (March-May)
Certain aspects of Christmas at churches will not change. You will have the services online or in-person. You might have serving opportunities. You may have events. Making the decisions you can based on last Christmas early will help you plan in the future. Consider the contingency plans – if we were to max out on three services, where we would add a fourth. It’s not that these decisions cannot change, but they offer a target to pursue rather than ambiguity.
Determine the theme along with creative elements (June-August)
Once you decide on the aspects of services and other opportunities, you and the team will be positioned well to consider a theme. Mainly, this role lies with a lead or teaching pastor. The good news of Christmas (literally & figuratively) is the story doesn’t change. More and more, I think people want to reflect on Jesus coming to earth with the carols. A couple of theme ideas might include peace, hope, and love. Part of this time is asking the question, “How would you like the church to participate in this season?” Building a theme then allows you to determine what creative elements you might consider.
Designate the tasks and set expectations (September)
You’ve debriefed the last Christmas, you’ve decided on the components, and you’ve determined a theme – now take the time to designate the checklist. What needs to happen between now and Christmas for us to be set up well? Depending on the church, here are a couple of things to consider:
- Who will project manage the events?
- Who will lead the serving projects or outreaches?
- How many volunteers will be needed?
- What graphics need to be designed?
- What will we communicate? Social Media? Email? Videos?
- What sermons and messages will lead up to Christmas?
- What technical equipment will we need? When will we test it?
- What role do staff and volunteers have during Christmas? Who will be there and be away?
Those are just a few things to chart out. Each church leader and department can come up with their checklist and compare it to the team. Designated the tasks means lower the chance for unforeseen problems.
Disseminate the communication to all people (October & November)
People seem to plan their Christmas sooner and sooner every year. The sooner you can share with people about what the church will offer at Christmas, the sooner they can lock in the church to their plans. Consider December 23rd for a moment. You may desire to see more people come to that service because it’s easier to invite people or want Christmas Eve more open for new people. Imagine communicating that reality in October? Now people have the opportunity to adjust their plans for the right reason. You have the opportunity to help guide the church to experience discipleship opportunities like serving and inviting by communicating as soon as possible repeatedly.
Develop the execution of Christmas (December)
You have taken the whole year to plan this next Christmas. You have taken the time to execute the plan. Now, you can come back to the checklists, and you have time to consider any adjustments. Hopefully, with planning and communication, the church team can feel a little less pressure in December.
What would you add to this timeline? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Photo by Keagan Henman on Unsplash