Christmas carries an unspoken expectation for worship leaders. This is supposed to be the high point of the year. Full rooms. Familiar songs. A season built around joy.
But for worship leaders, it is all too common for the days leading up to Christmas to feel anything but joyful.
The calendar is full. The emotional load is heavy. Rehearsals stack up. Expectations don’t stop rising. All the worse if personal grief and/or discouragement is lurking underneath it all. It’s a terrible position to be in; you’re supposed to be spearheading the joy! How are you supposed to be honest with how you’re actually feeling?
That tension does not mean you are failing.
It means you are human.
Why Christmas Can Feel Heavy for Worship Leaders
By the time Christmas arrives, worship leaders have already been running hard for weeks. Advent services, extra rehearsals, special arrangements, and volunteer coordination all take a toll. Add in the pressure of Christmas Eve being a “big moment,” and the weight compounds quickly.
There is also a pastoral burden that often goes unseen. Worship leaders carry their teams. They notice who is tired, who is stressed, and who is barely hanging on. Many are also carrying personal realities that don’t pause for the season. Loss, strained relationships, health concerns, and burnout don’t disappear because the calendar turns to December.
Feeling weary at Christmas is not a sign that something is spiritually wrong. It is often the natural result of faithful, sustained ministry.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison… – 2 Corinthians 4:16-17
You Are Not Being Fake When You Lead While Struggling
Many worship leaders wrestle with a quiet fear: If I don’t feel this, am I being dishonest by leading it?
There is a difference between pretending and persevering. Pretending asks you to perform an emotion you don’t have. Persevering invites you to stand on truth even when your heart feels tired.
Worship leadership has never required emotional perfection. But it does require faithfulness. You are not lying when you sing about hope while waiting for it to feel real again. You are bearing witness to something bigger than your current experience. This isn’t hypocrisy. This is trust. This is the importance of faith and hope. When God’s love feels far, we must have faith that it is not, and we must have hope that He will carry us through the valley. We are to proclaim the goodness of God no matter our current situation.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord. – Job 1:21
How to Lead Christmas Worship Faithfully When You Feel Dry
When joy feels distant, get back to the basics. They will never let you down.
Choose songs that carry the weight for you rather than demand emotional energy. Familiar carols and Scripture-rich songs can do all the heavy lifting without needing to be driven hard. Let the story of Christ’s coming speak for itself.
Resist the urge to force moments or create emotional peaks. Faithful leadership creates space for the Spirit to work without pressure. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can offer is clarity on why we’re worshipping.
You don’t need to feel full to lead people well. You just need to stay grounded in biblical truths.
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-2
What Your Congregation Actually Needs From You
The room you lead this Christmas will include people carrying their own heaviness. Grief, doubt, loneliness, and exhaustion sit in the pews every year. Lights are bright; songs are joyful; decorations are colorful; yet inside many tells a different story.
People do not need you to be impressive. They need you to be faithful. They need a guide who points clearly to Jesus, our only hope. People who don’t know Jesus need to hear about Him. Those who do know Jesus need a space for honest worship.
What is joy without Jesus? Fleeting; a fistful of sand. Trying to force joy on everyone never works. Give everyone permission to come as they are. If they walk in joyful, they’ll keep it (that’s easy). If they walk in woeful, there is no better news than the story of God entering into our woe to save us from it.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30
A Word of Permission
If Christmas feels heavy this year, you are not alone. If joy feels far off, you are not disqualified. God is anything but disappointed in leaders who show up weary but faithful.
Sometimes the most meaningful worship we lead is offered through steadiness, not excitement. Through trust, not adrenaline. Through obedience, not emotion.
Faithfulness is still faithfulness, even when it feels ordinary or empty.
And that is enough.
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. – Hebrews 6:10
