Have you seen it? Most stores already have Christmas products lined up in the aisles and packed into the shelves. But it’s not even Halloween yet!
Some people get excited by the early offering of Christmas items. It simply disgusts others. No matter your personal sentiment, one thing is for sure—Christmas is only three months away.
Starting today, we encourage you and your children’s ministry staff to take a look at these seven steps and begin the planning process for your children’s Christmas service.
- Pick a program
- Recruit volunteers
- Assign speaking parts to children
- Organize and assign musical parts for children
- Practice! Practice! Practice!
- Hold a dress rehearsal
- Final performance
In today’s blog, we’ll cover the first two steps. Ready to get started?
Step 1: Pick a Program
Clearly, picking a program should be your first step. The Christmas service you choose will set the course for the rest of your planning. Keep these three criteria in mind during your search:
- Christmas is about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. You’re likely to have many visitors at your Christmas service who may know nothing about Jesus. Don’t let them think that Christmas is about trees, presents, or sweet-sounding carols. Make sure your Christmas program keeps Christ at the center.
- Your Christmas program should be age-appropriate and match the abilities of your students. For example, if your program will involve preschoolers and kindergartners, you should look for a program with simple words and easy-to-learn songs. Older kids may enjoy learning a script and singing hymns with multiple verses.
- Analyze the resources you have in your ministry and pick a Christmas service that makes the best use of those resources. Do you have a talented organist? Pick a program that features beloved hymns. Do you have a great graphic designer or artist in your ministry? Look for a program that calls for scenery or visual elements. And, of course, pay special attention to your budget. (CTA offers two completely FREE Christmas services.)
Step 2: Recruit volunteers
In addition to children’s ministry leaders, you will need several volunteers to help plan the Christmas service. This is the second step for a reason: you need to start recruiting early! Karen Kogler, CTA’s volunteer expert, has shared great tips for volunteer recruitment on our blog. You can read them here.
As you assemble your team of volunteers, remind them that they are making a difference in the lives of these children. I still have many vivid memories of participating in Christmas programs at church during my childhood years! Encourage the volunteers by giving them each a small gift related to your Christmas program theme. If you’re using CTA’s FREE Christmas service, Come to Bethlehem and See, you could give each volunteer a magnet or pen and bookmark gift set.
Check back in October to learn more about assigning speaking parts and encouraging students to use their musical talents in the service.
You are welcome to copy this article for one-time use when you include this credit line and receive no monetary benefit from it: © 2015 CTA, Inc. Used with permission.
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