Receive Free Monthly TeachingResponses (cont):
Pastor Walker Schurz – Lusaka, Zambia
Our church operates virtually the same during the Christmas holidays. December is one of our highest months of attendance due to a number of factors: children back from boarding school, relatives visiting for Christmas, increased spiritual interest among general public and the rains have cooled off the summer heat.
We do have preaching during the month that focuses on Christmas and the incarnation. I have many times taken a Christmas carol and preached on themes from it: God and sinner reconciled, wonders of His love, He came to make His blessings known – far as the curse it’s found, etc. This takes a line or a phrase that most people know and God can bring out powerful gospel truths. We see many receive Jesus during December. Our worship team does Christmas songs during this time and the kids will do songs during the services also.
We have done a big Christmas musical in past years. It is lots of work and is well received by the community. I am not sure we get enough bang for our buck. We also get invited to the biggest shopping center in the country (next door to our church) to do Christmas songs. This is awesome because lots of lost people who would never come to church hear about God’s love and plan for them in song.
We do not do a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service. Many churches do here and many of our members would like this. I simply do not because I have two kids at home and our family has decided to make Christmas a family time with each other. I told the church when I came that if I ever had to choose between them and my family, it would be an easy choice – I will choose my family. This is one of the ways I can make that choice and let my kids know that they are more important to me than the church. I found that our folks understand and have many other options of Christmas services they can attend if they so desire.
Pastor Michael Steward – Powell, OH
During the Christmas season, for the past few years, we have cancelled our Wednesday evening services for December simply because it is such a busy time. This year we actually cancelled Wednesday services for both November and December. We do not have a Sunday evening service as part of our normal schedule. We hold two events during the holiday season that we encourage people to invite others to attend. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving we have a Praise Night where we just spend the evening (1 hour) having praise and worship. We also have a Christmas Eve service on Christmas Eve. This is not a traditional service; rather we are doing more of a production with the Christmas story being read to the back-drop of popular Christmas songs.
Pastor John White – Decatur, AL
Holidays use to be a real headache to me when I first started pastoring. We would have great momentum going into the holidays, and boom – the brakes were put on. Even for me personally, it seemed that the holidays pulled my attention away from what I felt important. I would struggle with trying to figure out what I should give myself to: family, church, my personal time with God? Then I realized that the holidays would not go away so I made a decision that I could take advantage of the holidays and please everyone involved.
Family time is very important and the holidays are a time for just that – families. I think that the holidays are a good time to remind us of that. When I came to that realization, the stress the holidays caused was eliminated. I encourage our church to take advantage of this time and spend it with their families. Therefore, when a holiday falls on a Sunday or Wednesday we rearrange our schedule. Since Thanksgiving is on Thursdays we move our Wednesday service to Tuesday in order for those families traveling out of town to have some extra time. When a holiday is on Sunday, we go ahead and cancel the evening service but always have the morning service (but sometimes in an abbreviated form). I found that when we tried to maintain our regular schedule people would not attend anyway, but when I rearranged the schedule to accommodate our people, attendance remained the same and in some cases even increased.
Also, the pastor and staff need time off as well. Take advantage of that time. My wife and I usually take the first week in January off to go somewhere, either to the beach or mountains, to seek God’s direction for the coming year and to recuperate from the holidays. When we do this, our momentum that we had going into the holidays is maintained.
Like I said earlier, holidays are not going to go away, so you might as well use them for your advantage. Don’t be afraid to try different things until you find out what works best for you. And enjoy the holidays!
Pastors Terry and Diane Scheel – Fenton, MO
We try to make Christmas time very special at the church, but also be very aware of the time constraints people have during this time of the year. School-age kids usually have school programs and concerts they are preparing for. Parents are trying to prepare for the holiday and are often very frazzled. We try not to give people another event they have to plan for or be stressed out about. We have a day set aside to decorate the church (with cookies & music!) which many people enjoy. As far as special events, we have always had a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service from 6-7 PM. We make sure it is kept to one hour. Some of our vital Worship Team members have long-standing family traditions on Christmas Eve, so we plan the music accordingly, using accompaniment tracks and simpler instrumental accompaniments. Every year we decide what special events we will do according to how many people have the time to be involved. We have done musicals, plays, a variety show, Christmas caroling at area nursing homes and some years we have done nothing extra. This year, we are distributing “The Good News of Christmas” door hangers, which include a New Testament, a gospel tract and an invitation to our Christmas Eve Service (they are only $1 each).
My husband and I always decorate our house for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. That is a very special day to us. We eat leftovers, decorate, listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies all day long.
Pastor Thom Fields – Kennewick, WA
The holidays possess all of the major ingredients of a perfect storm. If you’re not extremely careful, you can turn what should be among the greatest of annual celebrations into a scheduling nightmare. However, the leadership answer to dealing with this issue might not be as difficult as one might think. I believe it’s as simple as incredibly clear communication.
As you watch the calendar become more and more filled with holiday parties, Christmas productions, departmental get-togethers, and family activities, it is vital that you clarify that although the calendar may possess a plethora of opportunities – it is NOT expected that any one person attend or participate in every single event (and you might want to explain that these holiday rules apply to you and your family, as well!). Our church will engage in three and a half weeks of “pedal to the metal,” holiday-focused events. Children’s ministries will perform productions, the hard-workers bash will be held, multiple Christmas Eve communion services and a New Year’s Eve service with baptisms is also in the mix. Yet, if I can communicate the heart and desire of our leadership team effectively, people will realize that our ambition is to add the love of Jesus to their hectic schedule. It’s not to impose ourselves upon their hectic holidays.
We want to attempt to produce an atmosphere of peace during a season that’s in an all-out warfare against the Kingdom of Christ. I’ve found that people are looking for a place of refuge during this stressful season. I don’t need to require 100% participation – neither do I need to offer it. It’s okay if I take the family out of town during this season for a few days of flesh-pounding humiliation (my kids call it “snowboarding”). I want to be an example of building a family that enjoys life centered around Christ. Therefore, I don’t miss many of the worship opportunities offered this time of year. But on the other hand, I don’t attend ALL OF THEM, either. I hope this helps!
