Behind the Scenes of Meaningful Christmas Services During a Pandemic

How do you plan meaningful Christmas services and celebrations during a pandemic?

I see you planning for Christmas services already. I know a lot of time and energy goes into making decisions about Christmas during a regular year, and that is even more true during a pandemic. Can I get an "Amen"?!

I also know that a lot of year-end giving happens at Christmas services and the week of Christmas. And right now, a lot of churches are financially struggling with many pastors are wondering “Are we going to survive this pandemic when in-person services are limited this year?”

And yet we also know that people are still giving money to organizations. For instance, in the US almost $7.5 billion were donated by individuals to political federal candidates, parties, or PACs in 2019-2020.

People give money to people and organizations they believe are making a difference towards the things that matter the most to them.

A Different Question to Guide Your Planning

So, what if, while we're planning for our Christmas services, we ask a different question, one that puts our people and Jesus at the center of our planning? What if we ask: how can we help people reimagine a meaningful Christmas this year?

Here’s where a lot of people in our congregations and local communities are at with Christmas right now: they are already decorating for Christmas as a way to bring some Christmas cheer into their homes and daily life, and they are simultaneously disappointed and sad thinking about how different Christmas is going to be this year.

We all know that Christmas is going to look different this year and different for most people means that we’ll be spending less time in-person with the people we love the most. Video chats are better than nothing, but we all know they are just not the same as running around the house being chased by an uncle, or sitting in grandma’s lap getting all the snuggles, or baking cookies with a house filled with people, or work parties with all of our friends or candlelight services at midnight.

I don’t know what questions you use to guide your planning and visioning at your church, but what if this Christmas you and your team asked the question: how can we help people re-imagine a meaningful Christmas this year? After all, we know that Jesus can make a difference in our everyday lives, but do the people in our churches let alone our neighborhoods?

3 Ideas for Meaningful Christmas Celebrations

Here are three ideas for helping your community celebrate a meaningful Christmas even when we already know Christmas is going to be a lot different this year.

1. Decide in the next 7 days what your Christmas service will look like.

Decide now how you are going to do your Christmas service this year. We already know that there are not going to be any Covid-19 vaccines widely available by Christmas. And we know Covid-19 cases are rising all over the United States. So, use the data available right now about this pandemic and make a decision about what your Christmas service will look like.

Then share it with your community before Thanksgiving. This way, at Thanksgiving people will be able to share your Christmas service details with their friends and family. And knowing what it will look like in advance also lets them prepare and plan for their Christmas celebrations in advance (not to mention grieve not being able to do Christmas services like ‘normal’ this year).

2. Buy supplies early.

Once you decide what Christmas services will look like this year, buy whatever supplies you (and those worshiping with you) will need to celebrate. And buy early. The shipping industry is already overloaded…it’s only going to get more overloaded the closer we get to Christmas.

And while you’re doing your planning for Christmas, make sure to consider what kind of supplies you could buy and send to people, or drop off at their homes, that would enhance their Christmas celebrations this year. Who doesn’t love a surprise visit or something in the mail? Think supplies for an advent wreath, candles for an online Christmas Eve service, an advent devotional, or anything else that would help people celebrate Christmas in meaningful ways in their homes.

3. Determine how you will help people celebrate a meaningful Christmas.

One of the silver linings of this pandemic is the increased opportunities to equip and empower people in our church communities to engage in their own spiritual practices as home.  We all know that corporate worship has so many benefits. And so does living out our daily faith as followers of Jesus Monday through Saturday.

Christmas is such a great time to equip and empower people to engage in meaningful spiritual practices in their homes. So, as you decide what your Christmas service will look like this year, make sure to spend time deciding how you will help people celebrate a meaningful Christmas in their homes too. Will you send a weekly text with an advent prayer people can pray at home? Will you drop off advent devotionals? Will you invite people to virtually be part of your Christmas service? Will you do daily advent readings and discussions on your Facebook page?

Next week, I’ll have a guide to making your own advent wreath at home that you can share with your community if you’d like to.

We know celebrating Christmas will be different this year. But different doesn't need to mean any less meaningful. So, what does it look like for your community to daily walk with Jesus this Christmas season?