Every election year comes with a certain amount of apprehension and uncertainty, and this one more than most in the U.S. Of course, other life events can have the same effect – the loss of a job, a dream, or a loved one, an unexpected diagnosis, just to name a few. Even happy events can add stress and insecurity – a new baby, a new job, buying a new home. Often, people respond by turning to things familiar or sources of comfort – family, traditions, holiday experiences, etc. Will your church be ready to connect with people – whether they are celebrating or grieving – who are looking for reassurance, hope and meaning amid an otherwise chaotic season?
For Resurrection, Christmas Eve is our “Super Bowl” of outreach to people who do not have a church home. Whether we supplement or not with direct mail, social media, or radio/TV spots, we make sure our congregation is encouraged and equipped to invite others to Candlelight Christmas Eve worship. And, we schedule additional services (even on December 23, if necessary) for visitors’ convenience and to make sure we have enough room for everyone.
Here are four key areas we’ve found essential to making the most of this unique opportunity:
The Invitation
For most non-religious and nominally religious people who haven’t been to a church in a while (if ever), a common question – often unspoken – is whether they will be welcome. In other words, is it even okay for me to show up? With that in mind, the most effective form of outreach is still a personal invitation from someone in your church. We always produce a postcard, flyer or other handout that can be used to invite neighbors, coworkers, classmates, friends or family members to Christmas Eve worship. Then, we give it to our congregation during worship in the weeks before Christmas and encourage them to use it in reaching out to people they know.
We also use social media, and we still use direct mail. In these, our aim is always to connect with people where they are, offer the experience of peace, hope, healing, and joy that comes with the Christmas story, and assure them they will be welcome no matter what.
The Experience
We want to help new people feel comfortable from the moment they arrive, so they’re not
distracted by stress or worry and can relax and have an encounter with Jesus. I’ve shared this before, but for Christmas Eve this means:
Their Impression
Another thing many non-religious and nominally religious people have in common is the impression that churches only want them for their money. Years ago, we decided to directly counteract this impression and made a commitment to giving 100% of our Christmas Eve offering away to ministries beyond our church, while challenging our members to give an amount to the offering equal to what they spend on their own family for Christmas. We divide the offering equally between local and international projects, and we explain during the Christmas Eve services, either by announcement or a video (often including interviews with the project leaders), where the money will be going. For anyone who has not experienced this before – especially someone who views church offerings as self-serving – this forms a very different impression – often accompanied by a Wow!
The Next Step
For someone who feels welcome, has had an inspiring and heart-warming experience, and is possibly impressed with the missional focus of our giving, our final aim is to give them a compelling reason to return by scheduling one of our most intriguing sermon series of the year to begin in early January, usually two weeks after Christmas. We call these series “fishing expeditions,” and I have written several earlier posts about why and how we do them (Why Fishing Expeditions?, Going Fishing, and Context Matters). For the purpose here, our goal is to select a series topic that is appealing and relevant to people who don’t go to church, to present it in a compelling way (usually with a well-produced video), and to invite them to come back for it.
Whether we’ve been effective in these areas is generally reflected in our January worship attendance, which is consistently higher each year than it was right before Christmas, as our Christmas Eve guests return and take their next steps toward faith and the church.
So, how are you preparing to make the most of Christmas Eve this year?
Jonathan Bell is our ShareChurch Leadership Resources Specialist. He is passionate about helping people and churches live out their faith in the world and helps strengthen other churches by equipping their leaders with ideas, tools, resources and training. He loves being married to his wife Angie and doing just about anything with their six kids. He particularly enjoys hiking mountains, catching fish, baking, holding babies, serving others, and growing things.