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Photo courtesy of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas.
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Photo courtesy of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas.
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Photo courtesy of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas.
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Photo courtesy of Rez Church, Denver, Colorado.
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Photo courtesy of Rez Church, Denver, Colorado.
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Image courtesy of One Hope Church, New Orleans, Louisiana.
During the lengthy pandemic season, churches had to make multiple adjustments for how they presented and executed Christmas services.
Details and planning had to account for potential sickness or quarantine by team members, virtual or hybrid (both online and in-person) audiences had to be equally appeased, and expectations had to constantly be adjusted.
But in the last several months, since the pandemic was essentially declared as “over,” many churches have felt their services shifting back towards “the way they had been” before the Covid pandemic.
The recent Christmas season may have been the most “normal” one many churches have felt for some time, and that feeling is worth debriefing as ministries now begin to turn their focus towards the spring season of Easter preparation.
Lessons Learned
For several churches, Christmas offered some lessons to learn from and some concepts to build on as they move ahead and begin planning for the next major event on the church calendar: Easter.
One of those churches, the Dallas-based megachurch Prestonwood Baptist, has executed a massive Christmas production annually for the last 30 years. Called “The Gift of Christmas,” the show not only incorporates strong Gospel presentations, but generally also includes fun and entertaining seasonal elements.
“If we could plan for Easter the same way we plan for Christmas, the experience could be much more impactful.”
—Bryan Bailey, Director of Media, Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas
Christmas 2022 rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" by Prestonwood Church, Plano, Texas.
This past year, one of those elements gained international notoriety when a video clip of a rehearsal went viral on social media. It was footage of a “flying” drummer during a rendition of “Little Drummer Boy,” which then sparked vigorous online debate regarding what types of content would or would not be considered appropriate to be part of a church service.
“One of the important things about a show like GOC [the Gift of Christmas] is that we have a little bit of everything,” says Bryan Bailey, the director of media at Prestonwood for the last five years. “If you don’t appreciate what you are experiencing in each moment, chances are you’ll like the thing that’s coming next. We like to flow the production in a way that has peaks and valleys--flying drummers are a lot to take in, so the following moments are nice and relaxing, giving everyone’s brain a chance to chill out,” he adds.
However, it’s this willingness to take risks and try new things that ultimately helps the service be as strong as it could be.
“Christmas and Easter are tempting events to implement cool technical or creative elements just for the sake of being cool or creative,” Bailey notes. “Defining the purpose of the event ensures the team has a standard up to which they can measure their decisions. If an idea doesn’t check all the boxes, then it doesn’t make the cut. This helps result in an experience that is cohesive and compelling instead of jumpy and confusing,” he continues.
“Now that being said,” Bailey adds, “sometimes we have special technical or design elements that we really want to use in the show, and there are times when those elements help to inspire a great moment which will improve the experience and communicate the message. In both scenarios, it is vital that there are one or two members of the team who are the “Vision Protectors” - people who will ask the tough questions and help bring balance to the decision-making.”
During the height of the Covid pandemic, it seemed there was a strong cultural pull towards churches creating events that focused on nostalgia and giving a secure, predictable, “homey” vibe, since many people were desperate for a feeling of stability that was reminiscent of their pre-pandemic life.
But as that tension has eased, to Bailey’s point, it’s now perhaps becoming more normal or acceptable for churches to again begin experimenting with different elements that can heighten a sense of wonder or excitement during their special events, in hopes that the “wow factor” can boost engagement and draw more people in.
However, no ministry should simply employ experimental or edgy pieces just for the pure sake of adding them. Instead, intentionality and forethought should always be applied as to whether an idea is a good fit for a show or service.
“Each church has its own DNA - demographics, preferences, history, and gifting,” Bailey explains. “A church should lean into its strengths and be who it is. Don’t try and chase what other people are doing just because those models are successful. If your people love doing a simple choir concert each year, don’t take that away from them,” he suggests.
Photo courtesy of Rez Church, Denver, Colorado.
Lean In to Your Church's Strengths
Having this clarity of purpose was a huge takeaway for the team at Rez Church, a mid-sized, two-site ministry based in Loveland, Colo.
Stormie Haag, the production and sound director there, served as the project/event lead for Christmas services this past year, beginning with planning meetings in September and running all the way though the event itself.
As she went into her new role, she new immediately the importance of having a pre-defined sense of ministry identity to allow that to drive portions of the service.
“We believe it would not be beneficial for a new person to come on a holiday, see something super crazy and entertaining (but not necessarily typical of our services), and then potentially be disappointed when they return the following Sunday."
—Stormie Haag, Production and Sound Director, Rez Church, Denver, Colorado
“For me, it is massively important to have clarity on our vision and strategy before adding the ‘big things’,” she says. “Last Christmas, I believe we functioned in the opposite way which ended up causing stress for a lot of people when we got too far into a project, only to find out it wasn't hitting the vision for the service. This year, we were much more clear on what theme and vision we wanted people to walk away with, which helped us to fill in the gaps with intentional elements,” she explains.
While Rez has historically had the desire to work in larger or unique elements into special events like Christmas or Easter, because they’ve had a clear filter through which to run those ideas for the most part, that has enabled them to keep their special events on track and aligned with the church’s overall vision for what they want people to experience on those days.
“Over the years, we have trimmed our big events down to ‘the best weekend service we can pull off,” Haag explains. “We believe it would not be beneficial for a new person to come on a holiday, see something super crazy and entertaining (but not necessarily typical of our services), and then potentially be disappointed when they return the following Sunday. What we offer on a typical weekend is done with excellence and intention, so we desire to keep that vision for holidays as well,” she continues.
Christmas Eve at One Hope Church, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Planning and Structuring Special Events
Having a clear vision and purpose is one thing, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to smoothly navigate the entire special event planning process in a way that is structured and efficient.
This methodology was a major learning curve this year for One Hope Church, a small, single-site church in New Orleans.
“The more time you build in to planning your service the more room you allow for your creative ideas to come to life.”
—Corey Foshee, Production Coordinator, One Hope Church, New Orleans, Louisiana
Launched as a portable church in the fall of 2014, One Hope recently acquired a facility as its new, permanent home and began navigating an extensive process to move into that space prior to the Christmas season.
“We had just moved in the building on November 27th and most of our energy was spent moving into the building well,” says Production Coordinator, Corey Foshee, “so Christmas really felt like a push or stretch to do anything dynamic for us.”
He continues, “We kept the lighting and video elements simple so that our team of volunteers could run the service without the added stress of more new systems and gear [because] we also learned that in the middle of a season of busyness it is good to stick to your standard planning schedule and only plan what you can practice ahead of time.”
This then helps the idea of special event planning go full circle.
Having great ideas for special elements or “wow” moments are awesome in concept. But a church must be very intentional about considering those elements to ensure they hold true to that ministry’s overall identity and vision for that event. And if something passes that test during the brainstorming process, then logistics must be considered: given the resources at hand, whether financial or team-related, what is appropriate and scalable without causing long-term residual damage?
And as most churches will explain, the event cycle, though predictable each year, continually offers new lessons that can be learned and applied for the next time.
Prestonwood continues to navigate this process each year, according to Bailey.
"Our biggest problem with Easter is waiting until the end of January to start talking about it,” he confesses. “If we could plan for Easter the same way we plan for Christmas, the experience could be much more impactful.”
Fresh off of opening a new building, Foshee concurs with that sentiment.
“The more time you build in to planning your service the more room you allow for your creative ideas to come to life,” he states.
The word “intentionality” is consistently presented as a theme: whether in specific elements, whether in defining vision, or whether in establishing a process to execute.
But intentionality must also be implemented on the back end, with a willingness to discuss, debrief, and learn how to improve before the next “big thing” comes along.
“It is important to find ways to improve that experience a little bit each year,” Bailey counsels. “If we’re not improving, then what are we doing? God clearly calls us to do all things with excellence in a way that glorifies Him. Decide what that calling looks like for your ministry and chase it with everything you have. Don’t settle for less just because it’s a church!”
