Without question, Christmas Eve is usually the biggest worship event of any church’s year. Months of planning, work, creativity and prayer all go into the typical preparations for services that often reach two or three times the number of usual weekend attendees. While we were all hoping Covid would be in the rearview mirror by this point, the reality that it will continue to be a serious problem moving deep into the fall and winter. So how can we provide leadership, resources, and alternative ways forward during this challenging season?
Reality check
Worship experiences like Christmas Eve and Easter are usually tech ministries’ two biggest times to shine. We pull out all the stops and go as big as possible, usually with the enthusiastic support of the pastoral and executive leadership of the church. But responsible leadership means we need to recognize and accept that this is not the right season for that approach. Anyone who’s tracking what’s going on with movie theaters across the country knows that people, by and large, just are not ready to reengage with thousands of other people in an enclosed space, with everyone singing at the top of their lungs.
"So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.” I Corinthians 14:15 (NIV)
Worst of all, most experts and scientists believe that with winter just around the corner, things are very likely going to get worse before they get better. In order to protect the weakest and most vulnerable among us, this is the time to take all of that creative energy and direct it towards solutions that address the unique world we’re ministering to this year. In 2019 many churches had to go with multiple Christmas Eve experiences simply to accommodate everyone wanting to attend the service. Social distancing, safety protocols, and local ordinances will likely make this approach nearly impossible this year. While the final strategic call may not be in our hands, tech directors can lead out by being the first to offer effective alternatives that address the needs of this season without sacrificing effectiveness. So how can we provide meaningful and dynamic worship experiences for everyone from our regular attendees to our twice-a-years guests to people just feeling emotionally at the end of their 2020 rope?
The streaming experience
One great option for this year may well be to lead out with a streaming worship experience designed from the ground up for Christmas Eve worship. The on-demand service can be programmed uniquely for viewers watching remotely, favoring tighter camera angles, cleaner audio mixes, and custom media elements to emphasis emotional connection over scale and scope. One of the big advantages of this approach is that it provides creative ministries the opportunity and motivation to really get outside of the box.
The on-demand service can be programmed uniquely for viewers watching remotely, favoring tighter camera angles, cleaner audio mixes, and custom media elements to emphasis emotional connection over scale and scope.
While many ministries may be more comfortable filming in their usual sanctuary setup, the unique needs of this season could open of all sorts of creative possibilities, such as setting your Christmas worship stream in a rustic cabin or a coffee shop setting decorated for the holidays. Following along those lines, music sets could feature more of an “unplugged” approach, the Christmas message could be delivered from an armchair in front of a fireplace, and the closing could tell a story visually to reinforce the central message of the experience. No matter what kind of approach the programming team decides is most fitting and organic to the congregation, the creative sky really is the limit. Another advantage of this approach is that it allows music, design, film, teaching, and tech teams to produce at a level of quality and perfection that’s usually impossible to achieve over multiple live experiences. No matter where and when people set aside time to engage the stream, chances are extremely high that they’ll have a quality experience while staying safe and protecting others.
The cinematic approach
A second, more novel approach is one that a few select churches across the country have been experimenting with over the past several years. Rather than inviting people to be a part of a typical weekend-worship experience on steroids, church tech, film, and creative teams have created original mini movies that tell stories deeply rooted in the message of the Gospel and the mission of the church.
One compromise might be to employ a hybrid approach, utilizing the streaming or cinematic approach for those unwilling or unable to join live, and a secondary live experience for people who feel strongly about worshipping in person.
Usually these movies run 30-45 minutes and are followed up with a short live message and invitation from the teaching team, helping people move from guest to second-time attendee. Congregations are sometimes even equipped with short, custom movie trailers to invite friends and family who might not otherwise attend a traditional worship experience. For this particular season of social distancing, creating this type of film that tells a Christmas story could be the perfect antidote to much of what we’ve all been wrestling through in 2020. Best of all, it’s something that can be delivered effectively to almost anyone in any context through the power of web, streaming, and social media.
The hybrid model
No matter which approach your leadership team lands on, there will obviously be people who disagree or are less than satisfied, which goes with the whole leadership territory. One possible compromise might be to employ a hybrid approach, utilizing the streaming or cinematic approach for those unwilling or unable to join live, and a secondary live experience for people who feel strongly about worshipping in person.
While this might feel like a best of both worlds approach, it does have the big disadvantage of effectively doubling the creative team’s work. This increased workload will likely be most keenly felt by the tech team.
Still another approach that threads this needle might be to create a great on-demand Christmas streaming experience, then organize smaller “house party” or small group gatherings for regular attenders to participate in. This method will help bridge the gap between the call to gather together for worship and the imperative to avoid hosting super-spreader events.
Next steps
Once a final strategy has been agreed upon, it will be crucial to lock in the actual plan in order to maximize the specific advantages of the model you’re employing. Consider including the people in charge of communications to figure out how to get the most mileage out of your approach.
This season won’t last forever, and the way we lead our teams through it could largely determine their strength and vitality when things return to normal.
Ultimately, as we go about the job of crafting worship while protecting our congregations and communities from the dangers of disease, we also need to be sure we’re protecting our teams from burnout. It’s much easier to get on the same page with your leadership now about quality of experience vs. quantity of options, rather than waiting until the third week in December.
This season won’t last forever, and the way we lead our teams through it could largely determine their strength and vitality when things return to normal.
