Possible Church Decorating Ideas For Christmas

Christmas Service Ideas For Church - Creative Christmas Service Ideas

11 Amazing & Creative Christmas Service Ideas for Church

So, we've given you a few Christmas service ideas, but maybe you're just begging for something that is off-the-charts creative. Here are some awesome, amazing, and insanely creative ideas. You may not have the time to prepare for all of these, but you can maybe try one, and begin planning now for more next year. Hopefully, we can help you find something or spark an idea that will make your Christmas service unforgettable.

11 Amazing & Creative Christmas Service Ideas for Church

Last Updated: November 2017

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1. Create A Winter Wonderland On The Stage

Christmas is one of the most fun times for churches as they get to decorate the stage, sanctuary, and foyers with Christmas decorations, trees, snow and nativity scenes. Consider getting a whole bunch of real trees and putting them on your stage and covering them with lights and fake snow. This will really help bring the feeling of a winter wonderland and will bring that Christmas tree smell to your services. You can also set up your stage to accommodate a more acoustic style for worship. If your drummer is normally in a "cage", remove the cage for Christmas time, and narrow down the drum set to a 3-piece and set up a smaller, intimate stage that will encourage a Christmas sing-along worship set.

2. Host A Christmas Decoration Party

Dedicate a weekend or Saturday evening to decorate your church as a church family and congregation, classically called "The Hanging of the Green." The last weekend of November is a great time to do this. You can play Christmas music, have Christmas cookies and snacks, and if you're a smaller church with limited resources, ask the people in your congregation to each bring some decorations they love. Together with the help of volunteers, everyone can take part in decorating the church for Christmas. You and your congregation will be so proud of the work each week of the season.

3. Create An Alternative Worship Set Or Service

With all the different technology that is easily accessible, come up with some fun ways to incorporate it into your worship service. Try having the worship team play Christmas songs entirely using Garageband on iPads. Or go the more technology free direction and have it be 100% acoustic, maybe with a drum circle of Cajuns and djembes, jingle bells, and guitars. Your congregation will love gathering around and singing Christmas carols!

4. Write A Christmas Skit Or Christmas Play

Christmas is a fun time to gather together as one big church family and remember the true meaning of Christmas – Jesus Christ! One of the most fun ways to remember the birth of Jesus Christ is through a Christmas skit or play. Especially seeing the children of the church dressed up and reenacting the birth of Jesus, the wise men coming to worship Him and the shepherds in the fields being encountered by angels! Coordinate with your Sunday School director and come up with a few different plans throughout December. Perhaps it's one big play, spread out over the whole month of December with different parts being done in each service.

5. Encourage Thanksgiving During Christmas

As your church gathers together during the Christmas season to remember Jesus' Incarnation, encourage your congregation to reflect on all of the powerful and mighty things God has done in each of their lives. Set aside time to have an "open mic" for your congregation, allowing each person 30 seconds to say what they are thankful for. You'll find that a thankful heart encourages others to reflect on God's good blessings.

6. Have A Church Feast/Dinner

Choose one Sunday in December to host a Christmas feast, after a church service. It can either be potluck style, where everyone brings their favorite holiday dish, or you can assign specific dishes to families. Let it be a time that encourages friends, family, and neighbors to join together. You can even extend an invitation to other churches in your community.

7. Have A Candlelight Communion Service

Similar to a candlelight service, invite your church congregation to gather together for Christmas carols sung by candlelight. Include a time for your congregation to gather with their family and loved ones to partake in communion. Allow for 15-30 minutes while the worship team plays softly in the background. Encourage the leaders of each household to lead their families in communion, prayer, and giving thanks to God for everything He has done in their lives. You'll be amazed at the outcome of this since many families have a hard time setting aside quality time during this very busy season.

8. Bless Your Community With Baked Goods

Gather together as a church family and come up with a game plan to make some delicious baked goods and take them out to your community. You can take these baked goods to nursing homes, schools, fire stations, missions, or even another church in your community. You'll love seeing the smiles on their faces as you give them Christmas cookies and other goodies! Consider attaching some invites to your Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service as well.

9. Christmas Caroling

After one of your church services, gather together and go Christmas Caroling in your community. You can go to nursing homes, shopping malls, grocery stores or other public places. Plan this ahead of time and coordinate your attire and come up with a list of songs and the locations you are going to go caroling at. You can even go the old fashion route and gather together on a street corner in a heavy foot traffic area.

10. Give To Those In Need

Come together as a church family and buy, wrap, and deliver Christmas gifts to families who are struggling financially. Consider single-parent households, elderly or those physically challenged, the local community center, or the homeless shelter. Open up a conversation about their needs or wants, and consider blessing them with prepared meals too.

11. Have A True Christmas Service

Dedicate your entire Christmas church service to serving others. This is a great time to get the whole church involved in serving. It can be simple. For example, collect blankets and hand them out to homeless people or host a feast for another church or the homeless in your community. You can also volunteer at a homeless shelter or children's home. Doing one of these acts of kindness in place of your traditional Christmas service will send a message of love and provide your church congregation with a Christmas experience they won't forget. After all, Christmas is about when Jesus Christ came in humility to serve those in need.

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12. Christmas Eve-Eve Service.

While many churches still have a Christmas Eve service, more and more families are spending time together at home. Encourage your church congregation to spend quality time together as a family on Christmas Eve by having a Christmas Eve-Eve service instead. This also frees up your church staff from working/serving on Christmas Eve and allows them to spend time with their families on Christmas Eve or even attend a Christmas Eve service somewhere else in your community.

13. Give The Opportunity To Give

Open up your church services to allow for opportunities to give. Perhaps it's raising funds for a community project or a church in need of a new roof or better heating. Maybe it's a family who can't make ends meet. Whatever the need, remind your congregation of the importance to stop and serve. After all, Jesus came to us with the intent to serve us and not be served by us. This is the reminder at Christmas, that we serve the least of these. By creating opportunities to serve as a ministry, people will inherently slow down and be able to enjoy the moment rather than rushing to the next event. Find local partners in your surrounding area that could use a hand.

14. Integrate Social Media Into Your Christmas Services

Facebook and social media provide a fantastic and easy way to communicate with others. Consider creating some fun quizzes or questions to ask your church congregation on your social media platforms. You can even create some professional social media graphics and share them directly to Facebook with our Sharefaith Designer! Try creating 12 different images with Bible verses about the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for the "12 Days Of Christmas" and posting one each day leading up to Christmas.

15. Upgrade Your Church Service

Consider new visual effects for your service. Christmas Motion Graphics are constant moving images that loop throughout the duration of your song. The setup is very similar to a regular worship background. This is a great way to engage your congregation especially if this is something completely different for your service. But the main thing you want to remember is to use backgrounds that complement the entire service theme. If you already use motion graphics consistently, we encourage you to continue learning and trying new techniques and finding new technologies that can assist your service.

Whatever your Church does for special services throughout the year, be unpredictable. Even if it seems like the same thing every year, our call is to make it new as Jesus makes all things new. It doesn't mean we abandon tradition. Rather, we can weave in ways to help people interact with the truth of the Gospel: God made flesh and dwelling among us, as John says. That way, we will help people to stop, think, reflect, and give space for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives to believe.

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