Checklist for Christmas Preparation
Checklist for Christmas Preparation
Checklist for Christmas Preparation
__Serve the community throughout December.
For better or for worse, with the multitude of holidays that happen around this time, Christmas has become more associated with lawsuits over the use of "Happy Holidays" than with the birth of the savior.
Our goal should be to make it clear to the community that our biggest concern is with serving others. That's what Jesus focused on. That's what we're celebrating. To be successful, we must stick to that mission. If you need some ideas, we have a list of simple ways you can serve.
__Estimate how many people to expect in service, and make sure you have enough space. Do you need extra childcare space? Do you need to borrow chairs for the day?
__Pretend to be various kinds of visitors and see how your church would look from their eyes.
Pretend this is your first time. Is the building easy to find, or hidden from the road?
Are key areas (restrooms, childcare, etc.) clearly marked?
If you were dechurched, would you be inclined to come back the next week? (The term "dechurched" refers to those who used to be involved somewhere, but got turned off and left. Sometimes the issue was an offense, sometimes they just got busy, it could be any number of reasons, but the bottom line is they now have a stereotype about church and Christians that you as a leader need to confront and overcome.)
You might even want to get a friend of yours to come visit the church and see how well they can get around without any help (kind of like a secret shopper).
__Make sure your website is current. It's easy to get so busy with the preparations that you forget to update the website, but today, the website is the first thing most guests will see. They'll look there for directions, service times, and just to scout out how they should dress. If they arrive looking for Christmas service times and find a giant announcement about the 4th of July picnic, then as far as they're concerned you're not even in the right century. --You really want a good impression.
__Start on time. End on time.
I'll be the first to admit that our culture has no excuse to be as selfish as it is. God gave us more than we can imagine, so we have no room to complain about waiting another hour to open presents while 90% of the world can't afford supper, let alone presents.
But, I would also argue that it doesn't matter that there's no excuse for your visitors asking you to speed it up. What matters is that we have access to people who don't know Jesus, and we have a chance to share the gospel. It's not proper for them to ask we keep it short, but it wasn't proper to spit in Jesus' face either and he didn't complain. He suffered gladly while His eyes were fixed on the souls He could save. So, be mindful of the visitor's attention spans and respect their time. When you say the service is an hour, make it an hour and no more.
__Encourage members to be guides, not pointers. What I mean by that is, if a visitor needs assistance, don't just tell them "It's over there." Escort them. Chat with them on the way. Make sure they feel like honored guests. There's no better way to celebrate Jesus' sacrifice than to treat those He came to save like the jewels He sees them as.
__Pray and fast.
__**Take a day off, with no work, and DON'T GO NEAR THE MALL I know this is hard to imagine. There's so much to do that taking time off seems irresponsible. That's why you must take time off. Let your spirit calm down. Let God fill you with peace. Then, when you get to church and have all the stress that comes with a mass influx of visitors, you'll be relaxed enough to be friendly, not nervous and scatter-brained.
I pray you'll be blessed, well rested, and that God will exceed your expectations this Christmas.
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