The gospel potential soars at Christmas. 'Tis the season for churches to be dreaming about Christmas. And about all kinds of ideas to share the good news of Jesus with your near neighbours.
This year could be the FIRST time people in your community attend an in-person Christmas event at a church in a long time or even a lifetime.
Inviting a friend to something at Christmas is easier than any other time in the year. Based on one study, 82 percent of non-Christians said they would likely attend a church if a friend, co-worker, neighbour, or family member invited them.
Between now and November 25th, form your plans of how to mobilize your congregation to reach out to your community this Christmas.
6 Ways to Reach (and Retain) More People This Christmas
Build on a culture of prayer and invitation during Advent.
At your regularly scheduled prayer meetings, pray for an awakening in your community this Christmas. Challenge your congregation to pray for four families or friends over the four weeks of Advent.
Make it easy for your congregation to bring a friend to Christmas Eve by producing full-colour business-size cards, Instagram-like cards, door hangers, or full-size posters with details that people can hand to their friends and post in your community.
Three at a Time – Pack your cards up in bundles of three so that when you hand them out, it communicates you want people to invite multiple friends.
Encourage your congregation to place Christmas Eve invitations on their desks at work.
At holiday parties (office, family, and neighbourhood gatherings), be prepared to hand out invitations to your Christmas Eve services.
Mid-December plan friendly, phone invitation call nights to newcomers to your church since September. A group of 10-20 volunteers can call 50-100 newcomers from the convenience of their own homes.
Distribute small gifts to neighbours along with invitations. (Small gifts might include packages of hot chocolate, Candy Canes, individually wrapped Christmas chocolates, and children's colouring books.)
Christmas Eve Service
Think about your community when praying and planning for Christmas Eve. Wrap your service in elements of nostalgia. As humans, we love tradition, and research has shown that it's hard-wired. Tradition makes us feel safe and mentally healthier when participating in traditions. Part of tradition and nostalgia includes the imagery of Christmas.
Think
trees,
snow,
stars,
presents,
candles,
a creche and
carollers.
All those pieces make us feel nostalgic about Christmas. Leverage this feeling at Christmas. Keep young children in mind when planning content and flow.
On Christmas Eve, help your guests see how your church loves and serves year-round. Show and tell a 3-minute, compelling story of how your church helped the community in 2022. Start now to compile the video, pictures, and stories from people in your congregation.
Did your church:
help with your local Food Bank?
provide school supplies for back-to-school families?
deliver groceries?
offer support groups for mental health?
assist a single-parent family with food?
visit shut-ins or seniors?
deliver gift cards or flowers to first responders or frontline workers?
run a playground summer fun day or a sports camp for the community?
host a Day Camp for the community?
host parent's-night-out offering childcare?
present a marriage or parenting workshop for the community?
Multiple Services
Christmas Eve '22 is on Saturday. There is no better day to offer multiple Christmas Eve gatherings than on a Saturday. Why offer multiple services? Not everyone can make it to one service because the reality is that different families have different needs. Young families prefer earlier services to get their kids to bed or have dinner together—some just like a later service. Consider hosting an hour-long service at 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm or 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Provide a good snack between services for your volunteers.
Give each volunteer a hand-written thank you card and some Ferrero Roche chocolates.
Christmas For Kids and Parents
Host a Saturday afternoon movie matinee for kids grades 1-5. Show a Christmas movie and popcorn – The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Star, Christmas for a Dollar.
Host a Christmas Camp. Offer free childcare to your community on Friday and Saturday nights. These are prime times for company Christmas parties and holiday shopping. Organize a crafts station where children can create homemade gifts for their families and friends.
Host a gingerbread house-making Saturday afternoon at the church and advertise it to the community. Purchase kits for single parents; offer hot chocolate and cookies.
21 Additional Christmas Ideas for Families
At your pre-Christmas event, hand out invites to your Christmas Eve service.
Have a draw for a prize of Christmas chocolates and ask for their name and email address.
Follow up with your event with an email invite to Christmas Eve.
Direct Email to Everyone
Email reaches many people effectively and inexpensively, and most churches probably don't send enough emails. Create an account, it's free and effective, and if you need assistance, our coaches can help you get started by emailing them at coach@abnwt.com. If you haven't set up a Mailchimp account, start now in time for Christmas.
Sample Email Schedule for Christmas 2022:
November 25th – One month until Christmas! Share the details of your Christmas event and get your people praying.
December 8th – Inform people that invitation cards or door hangers will be available this Sunday.
December 15th – Shareable social media post
December 22nd – One final reminder to pray and use invitations to include family, friends, and neighbours.
Give those who accept your Christmas invitation a reason to return in early January.
Invite them to:
your Sunday series in January.
an Alpha group to explore faith.
a weekday evening event for a women's night out.
a Saturday afternoon matinee movie for parents and kids.
Create a One Day Fun Day on a Saturday.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.