Don’t Waste Christmas: Your Church’s Best Shot At Reaching the UNchurched
If you're a pastor or ministry leader, this one's for you.
Here's the reality… our culture is becoming increasingly post-Christian. There are very few moments on the calendar when what matters to the church matters to the world.
But Christmas? Christmas is different.
Even as people disconnect from Christ, they still love Christmas. They sing songs with biblical theology while shopping at Target and the mall. They show up to church services they'd never attend any other week of the year. And that creates a unique opportunity, one we can't afford to waste.
The question isn't whether Christmas matters. The question is… Are we being strategic and intentional with this moment?
// Five KEYS TO MAKING CHRISTMAS COUNT
1. Design for Your Community, Not Your Members
This is where most of us miss it. We plan Christmas gatherings for people who already attend our church. We use insider language, assume cultural knowledge, and create experiences that make perfect sense to us while confusing everyone else.
Take an honest look at your Christmas plan through the eyes of someone who hasn't stepped foot in a church in years. What would confuse them? Your song selection, your announcements, even your signage and parking flow, review all of it.
Paul wasn't joking when he told the Corinthians to be mindful of unbelievers in gathered worship [1 Corinthians 14:23-25]. If we're serious about reaching people, we need to think like missionaries, not members.
2. Lean on Your Strengths
Stop trying to be the church down the street with the bigger budget and better lights. Every church has unique gifts and capacities. The key is doing fewer things with genuine excellence rather than spreading yourself thin trying to compete.
If you have strong musicians, create an unforgettable musical experience. If hospitality is your thing, make people feel more welcomed than they've felt anywhere else. If you're a small church, lean into the intimacy and personal connection that large churches can't replicate.
Quality beats quantity. Every single time.
3. Be Creative and Involve Your Most Creative People
People have seen it all before. The same carols, the same sermon points, the same candle lighting. If you want to break through, you need creativity, and that means unleashing your creative team, not micromanaging them.
Start planning early. I mean early, like in July. Create dedicated brainstorming sessions. Give permission to try new things like spoken word, visual art, non-traditional service formats. Remember, God filled Bezalel with His Spirit specifically for creative work [Exodus 31:1-6]. Creativity in worship isn't about entertainment, it's about artistry that points to the Creator.
4. Give Your Congregation Invitation Tools
Your members are your greatest marketing team, but most of them don't know how to invite their friends to church. There's a difference between "You should come to my church" and "Would you like to come with me?" Encourage your congregation to take their guests to coffee or dinner before or after the gathering as well as sitting with them during it.
Make it easy for them. Create physical invite cards (yes, people still use these). Design shareable social media graphics. Build a simple landing page that tells people what to expect. Equip your congregation with talking points so they can confidently say, "We're doing something special for Christmas..."
5. Invite Them Back to Something Specific
Don't let Christmas be a one-and-done moment. Create a clear next step.
Plan a January sermon series that builds on Christmas themes like incarnation, hope, or new beginnings. Launch a "Next Steps" class. Most importantly, have a follow-up plan for first-time guests. Make the ask clear from the platform… "We'd love to see you back here on January 5th..."
The goal isn't just to get people in the door for Christmas. It's to help them take the next step in their journey toward Jesus.
// The Bottom Line
Christmas represents one of the few remaining cultural moments when the world still cares about something the church cares about. We can't afford to treat it like just another Sunday service with better music.
Be strategic. Be intentional. Design with unchurched people in mind, lean on your unique strengths, unleash creativity, equip your people to invite their friends, and create a clear path forward.
Christmas is coming. The question is… what are you going to do with this opportunity?
Keep looking up,
Pastor Alan is the lead pastor of Allegheny Center Alliance Church. To find out more about ACAC, go here.
