Christmastime can be super fun … but it can also really hectic for families. Whether they are hosting parties, buying gifts, going to events at work or school, or relocating their elf on a shelf—families are simply busy. So how do we connect families and church together during the Christmas season?
A Challenge
This Christmas season, let’s challenge our programs to be intentional and creative as we look for ways to engage families, so they can celebrate and have fun together.
Think of a meaningful Christmas tradition your family did together when you were growing up. Maybe it wasn’t something that had to do with Jesus, and it was just something fun.
You might have driven around looking at Christmas lights with hot cocoa while wearing your pajamas. Or maybe you went to the Christmas tree lighting in your town every year. What was a holiday tradition that you did as a kid? Why did you enjoy it?
I’m guessing it was because your family was together.
Focus on Jesus
Let’s make it a tradition for families to focus on Jesus during Christmas time. Families might have traditions about opening presents, Santa, or elves on shelves, but I want to challenge you to help families make celebrating Jesus’ birth a tradition and to make it easy for them.
We don’t need to have a million different activities and everyone going different ways and doing different things all Christmas season so that they’re tired and totally burned out.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a big church, a megachurch, a small church, or a medium-sized church. Whatever size, whatever denomination, your families need three things from your church this holiday season.
Let’s make it a tradition for families to focus on Jesus during Christmas time.
Celebrate & Worship
The first thing that families need from your church is an opportunity to celebrate and worship together. That might be your Christmas Eve service or an event that you host such as a live nativity, Christmas pageant, gingerbread decorating night, pajama and movie night, pancake breakfast, and so on.
There are so many different things that you could do. Be intentional, making it an opportunity for families to worship and celebrate Jesus together. Make the main thing the main thing. Give families an opportunity to get together in community.
This can be a digital event. Don’t feel like it has to be in-person because a lot of families are still virtually attending church. You can do a family story, Christmas stories by the fire, and read to the kids over Zoom. Send families some hot cocoa packets to enjoy during the story time. You can also broadcast your Christmas Eve service on your church’s social media pages.
Make the main thing the main thing.
Connect & Grow
The second thing we need to give families is an opportunity to connect and grow deeper together at home. This might look like a take-home kit which could include: a craft, devotional, or a worship experience that can be done at home. Other ideas are a drive-thru nativity or a birthday party for Jesus.
There are so many different types of things that you can do to give families an opportunity to grow deeper together at home. It doesn’t have to be costly. It can be a card that has a Bible verse on it that they look up, an acts of kindness Advent calendar, or something that you email to them that they can do at home, an idea that they can use. It can totally be free.
The goal is for you as the church to give families something that they can do together, where they can grow deeper in their faith and focus on Jesus together at home. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It can be simple.
Serve Together & Make a Difference
The third thing that families need is an opportunity to serve together and make a difference. A lot of families enjoy shopping for a family in need. They could volunteer for the Salvation Army, ringing the bells together. Toy and food drives are a tangible way to serve.
Taking baked goods to people who are serving the community on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day can show God’s love to those community members. There are so many different things that people can do. But the important thing is giving families an opportunity to do something to give back.
Connected Christmas
Ministry Spark has worked with leaders like you to create a kit to combine all three of these things in a super-easy format. With Connected Christmas, you could literally have it all ready to go in a very short time.
This kit has everything that the families in your church need to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus. It provides an opportunity to celebrate together at church, to connect and grow deeper at home, and to serve and make a difference.
Let me share one way to use the fully customizable content of Connected Christmas. Choose gift bags or different sizes/types of boxes, one for each family in your program. You might consider creating extras for families to share with their friends too.
Inside the box, you can put the supplies that they’re going to need. There are printables provided, and you can get as creative as you want. There are also four weekly videos.
Video Component
These videos have Bible stories and a weekly theme. They are all about connecting: connecting with your family, connecting with friends, connecting through worship, and connecting with Jesus.
Everything you need, in one organized space! You can send episodes via email, social media, or even text message. The videos can also be shown during church services. After watching the video, there are hands-on activities included.
Activities
Simple crafts are included and there are also quick options if crafts and supplies aren’t available for your community. All the activities are centered around the Bible story and theme for that week. One fun option includes a baking devotional that teaches about Jesus and the Bible stories.
As you prepare to share with the families in your community, you can include some of the ingredients, or share a shopping list. If baking isn’t something feasible for your church family, then you can tweak it and make it fit your needs.
A great feature of this kit is that everything can be done completely digitally. Literally, the whole thing can be emailed to families. It comes with everything that you need to help them grow deeper together at home.
Churchwide Event
Connected Christmas also includes every single thing you need to produce a wonderful event. There is a video, worship playlist, activities, volunteer roles, timeline, and step-by-step schedule for an all-church event. You can customize it however you want. It comes with a script, a video, everything you need to celebrate together with families.
However it works best for you is how you should use this incredible kit. It’s simple. It’s intentional. Connected Christmas is fun for families. This is not just for little kids. Adults, teenagers, anybody in your church would really enjoy doing these activities and having a family devotional time.
It comes with everything that you need to help them grow deeper together at home.
Let Ministry Spark help you help your families create an opportunity to be intentional about focusing on Jesus and growing, celebrating, and worshiping during this upcoming Christmas season.
Connected Christmas Kit
Connected Christmas Kit
