Does seeing a Christmas themed article in September count as a jump scare?
Relax. There’s still plenty of time left before Christmas. But let’s be honest, the reason Christmas causes a stress response in worship leaders is because they almost always start planning way too late. A little planning now will save a million headaches later.
Before the Christmas season really takes off, gather the key people involved in your church’s Christmas worship and have a planning meeting. It doesn’t need to be complicated. The goal is simply to get everyone looking at the same calendar, talking through the major decisions, and figuring out who is responsible for what.
Here are the things worth putting on the agenda.
Christmas Eve and Advent Services
Start with the calendar.
Confirm the dates and times for your Christmas Eve services, as well as any special Advent services or other Christmas gatherings. Make sure everyone in the room is working from the same schedule.
This is also the time to talk about what each service is supposed to accomplish. Will Christmas Eve be a traditional service? Will there be multiple services? Will there be communion, candle lighting, Scripture readings, or other special elements?
Do not try to finalize every detail yet. You just need to get everyone on the same page of what you’re planning toward.
Christmas Songs
Now is the time to start talking about the music.
Make a preliminary list of the Christmas songs and hymns you expect to use throughout the season. Think about which songs will work for Advent, which ones belong specifically on Christmas Eve, and which songs your congregation already knows well.
This is also a good opportunity to identify anything that will require extra preparation. A new arrangement, special instrumentation, choir part, or unusual transition can create more work than expected.
Getting those things on the radar early gives your team time to prepare.
Special Elements
Christmas services often include more than songs and a sermon.
Maybe there will be Scripture readings. Maybe children will participate. Maybe there will be a choir, a dramatic reading, a testimony, communion, candle lighting, or a video.
Talk through those elements now.
You don’t have to solve every creative detail during the first meeting. Simply identify what you want to include and what needs to happen for each element to become reality.
Musicians and Other Participants
Christmas often involves people who aren’t part of the regular worship rotation.
Start identifying who needs to be involved. This might include additional musicians, vocalists, choir members, Scripture readers, children’s ministry volunteers, or other participants.
The earlier you know who you need, the earlier you can start asking. You’ll find way more success asking in October whether someone can play cello for Christmas than if you asked in December.
Children’s Involvement
If children are going to participate in a Christmas service, involve the children’s ministry early.
Talk about what their participation will look like, how many children will be involved, what they need to learn, and how much rehearsal time will be required.
Children’s participation can be a wonderful part of Christmas worship, but it requires a bit more coordination than simply putting kids on the stage five minutes before the service.
Tech Needs
Don’t leave the tech team out of the planning meeting.
Talk through anything that will require additional technology or preparation. This might include videos, special lighting, additional microphones, playback tracks, presentations, livestream elements, or stage changes.
Christmas services tend to have more moving parts than a normal Sunday. Getting the tech team involved early gives them time to figure out what is actually possible and what needs to be prepared.
Rehearsals
Once you know what you’re planning, start thinking about rehearsals.
Look at the Christmas calendar and identify when your team will realistically be able to rehearse. Thanksgiving, travel, family commitments, and other church activities can make December scheduling difficult.
Don’t use the shotgun method of scheduling rehearsal after rehearsal all over the calendar. It isn’t realistic and it causes unnecessary stress. Instead, identify the songs and elements that truly need extra preparation and plan accordingly.
Communication
One of the biggest benefits of an early planning meeting is knowing what needs to be communicated.
Who needs the music? Who needs the schedule? Who needs charts? Who needs rehearsal recordings? Who needs to know when they are serving?
Write those things down. Christmas gets stressful when people discover important information at the last minute. Good communication early can prevent a lot of unnecessary stress later.
Who Is Responsible for What?
This may be the most important part of the meeting.
Don’t leave the room with a list of things that “someone” needs to do. Assign responsibility.
Who is contacting musicians? Who is coordinating children’s involvement? Who is preparing the slides? Who is communicating with the tech team? Who is scheduling rehearsals? Who is handling special elements?
Everyone doesn’t need to be responsible for everything. In fact, the #1 thing you can accomplish in an early Christmas planning meeting is making sure everyone knows exactly what belongs to them.
You Don’t Need Every Detail Yet
The purpose of this meeting isn’t to have the entire Christmas season perfectly planned in September. It’s to get ahead of the obvious things.
You want to leave the room knowing the major dates, the basic direction for each service, the people who need to be involved, the elements that require preparation, and who is responsible for moving each piece forward.
Christmas will still be busy. There will still be changes. Someone will forget something. A musician will get sick. A plan will change. But that’s a lot easier to handle when you’re starting with a plan instead of starting from scratch. So get the right people in a room, put Christmas on the calendar, and start talking. Future-you will be very glad you did.
May God richly bless you and your team this Christmas season!
