The Churches That Win Christmas Start in August (Here’s What They Do Differently)

Christmas presents unique opportunities and challenges for churches.

Your sanctuary fills with visitors who haven’t attended since Easter.
Regular members bring family members who may be skeptical about faith.
Your community expects meaningful experiences during the holiday season.

Many churches begin their Christmas preparation in November, hoping to create something impactful in just a few weeks.

Successful Christmas ministry requires months of intentional preparation.
The churches that create transformational holiday experiences begin their work in August, when the ministry year launches and fall programming takes shape.

This early preparation allows for deeper planning, better execution, and more meaningful outcomes. So we asked veteran pastors and ministry leaders who’ve shepherded their congregations through decades of holiday seasons a single question:

What’s the 1 thing churches should focus on RIGHT NOW to create their best Christmas ever?

Their responses reveal practical strategies that have proven effective across different church sizes, denominations, and communities.

1. Design an event for your community, not for your members.

Carey Nieuwhof, Founder & CEO at Carey Nieuwhof | The Art of Leadership Academy says…

If there’s any time of year unchurched people are most likely to come to church, Christmas is at (or near) the top of the list. It’s the last remaining holiday where the secular culture echoes (at least in fractured parts) the Christian story. So, what’s the biggest mistake that most churches make each year? They hold a quiet Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service for members and leave it at that, instead of seeing it as an opportunity to reach friends and neighbors who rarely, if ever, attend church. Unchurched people want to celebrate Christmas. Why can’t your church help them? When you design services with your community in mind, it makes it easier for members to invite friends and for those friends to attend.

Connect with Carey:Website| LinkedIn| Instagram| Facebook| TikTok

2. Get Clarity Now

Darrel Girardier, Communications Director at Brentwood Baptist says…

If I could give pastors one piece of advice for Christmas 2025, it would be this: clarify the win for your team now. Christmas is one of the few moments when your entire church and community are leaning in. People who haven’t attended in months are willing to give you one Sunday (or one service) of their time. That’s huge. But here’s what I see too often: we rush to create things (graphics, sermon series, special elements) without clearly defining the why behind them. So before you get lost in planning the “what” (service times, creative moments, promos), take one meeting in August and answer three questions with your team: 1. Who are we trying to reach this Christmas? (Unchurched? De-churched? Your own people?) 2. What do we want them to experience and feel when they walk out? (Hope? Belonging? Clarity about Jesus?) 3. What’s the single next step we want them to take? (Come back in January? Join a group? Start reading the Bible?) When your whole team knows the win, every decision, from sermon prep to social media posts, lines up. You’ll stop creating in silos and start building momentum together. Christmas isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing the right things on purpose. Clarity in August creates impact in December.

Connect with Darrel:Website

3. Empower and Galvanize Early, Celebrate Later

Binu Thomas, Executive Pastor at Echo Grace Church says…

If you want Christmas 2025 to be your church’s most impactful yet, the best thing you can do right now is build a leadership team of galvanizers, people who not only plan well but are also naturally gifted at rallying others to a cause. As Patrick Lencioni describes, galvanizers are the ones who inspire action, and in the context of church ministry, they’re the ones who can mobilize volunteers with energy and clarity. Start identifying and empowering those leaders now, and you’ll have the infrastructure in place to recruit, train, and deploy volunteers well in advance of the December rush. Volunteer mobilization is especially critical because Christmas services are one of the few times a year when people who don’t usually serve are open to jumping in. The beauty of a one-time event like Christmas Eve is that it offers a built-in “exit strategy,” which lowers the barrier for first-time volunteers. But it also opens the door for longer-term engagement, because many who serve once are more likely to serve again. By starting early, you reduce burnout, increase ownership, and create a joyful, sustainable rhythm of service that blesses both your team and your congregation.

Connect with Binu:Website| Facebook

4. REALITY: If Christmas is the WEDDING … every day after is the MARRIAGE.

Thomas Kang, Senior Pastor at NewStory Church says…

Like most young couples overwhelmed (and overjoyed) with planning their upcoming wedding ceremony … many pastors pour everything into creating an unforgettable Christmas experience. “Everything must be perfect!” But even if it is perfect… Then what? The next Sunday is always coming. So what happens the Sunday after when all these people decide whether to return? Here’s the counterintuitive truth: churches that see lasting growth from Christmas aren’t just great at the big event—they’re masterful at January follow-through. The problem is, the Sunday right after Christmas, you and your staff are exhausted and scrambling to figure out “what’s next” while visitors are making their crucial second-visit decision. At NewStory Church, the right after Christmas Sunday is one of our favorites. (And no, it’s not because we close our doors that day and invite everyone to tune into a pre-recorded service online … Although if that’s you, great! Then you can implement what I’m about to share next for your following live, in-person gathering.) Instead of limping into January with a generic sermon, we plan a powerful Testimony Service where our congregation shares how God showed up in the past year and/or how they are leaning into God for this new year ahead. We call it our “NewStories Service” and we start collecting these stories from within and around our congregation in July, giving people months to think and pray about their stories. The result? Christmas visitors walk into a room buzzing with authentic faith stories and forward-looking hope — exactly what people need after the holiday crash. The magic happens because this isn’t just good programming; it’s strategic discipleship in the form of celebration. Visitors see real people sharing their own real stories, which is infinitely more compelling than another “welcome to our church” presentation. Meanwhile, your regular attenders get to process their year spiritually and cast vision for what’s ahead. Start planning your January follow-up in July, and you’ll turn Christmas Sunday from a one-time event into a launching pad for year-round growth.

Connect with Thomas:Website| LinkedIn| Instagram| Facebook| TikTok

5. The best thing to focus on right now is… you!

Drew Hyun, Executive Director at Emotionally Healthy Discipleship says…

As goes the leader, so goes the church. You cannot give what you do not possess. These are phrases we often use at Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, because our greatest conviction is that of all the things you can focus on in your leadership and life, your first priority should be a vibrant life with God, yourself, and others (echoing the great commandment in Matthew 22:36-40). Unfortunately, most of us get inundated with tasks and plans that we can miss out on the best contribution we can make in our families and churches – a healthy, transformed self. There is no better time than today than to start cultivating your life with God and others in a deeper way. Most leaders put their inner lives on the back burner because of the urgency of tasks, the thirst for productivity, and the focus on mission (none of which are bad things by themselves). And yet, what we see in the life of Jesus is someone who emphasized “abiding” (John 15) and lived out a regular rhythm of rest and work (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:15-16, Matthew 14:13, etc). So invest in yourself NOW, so that the best, transformed version of yourself is healthy and whole during the most extenuating times of ministry. One way you can invest in your inner life and relationships is through our School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership, an intentional time this Fall to practice being before doing. I hope you can join us! https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

Connect with Drew:Website| Instagram

6. The Easiest + Most Effective Social Media Campaign for Christmas

Kenny Jahng, Chief Engagement Officer at FrontDoor.Church says…

Start by recruiting 23 members right now and film all their Christmas testimonial videos during the next 3 Sunday services. Set up a simple station in your lobby – knock out just 8 videos per Sunday with specific prompts like “why our Christmas music moves you” or “how welcoming we are to newcomers.” Keep them short and each focusing on ONE point — think 15 or 30 seconds! Film them at church while Sunday energy is high for maximum authenticity. Once you complete the initial 23 videos, challenge yourself to recruit another 13-23 people for double posts throughout December. This gives you flexibility – start with one video per day, but if momentum builds and you get more participants, you can post morning and evening videos for maximum social media presence and reach twice as many personal networks. Make sure to TAG each person who’s on camera from your church. Then “share” the post with them directly so they can post it to their own Stories. Schedule your videos to post December 1-23, then have the pastor film their personal invitation video to post the day before your Christmas services. Whether you end up with 23 or 46 videos or more, your daily social media runs itself while you handle everything else. Your baseline social media for December will be locked and loaded while in other years you might have been scrambling in November to plan and produce all this content. Now that’s a Christmas gift to yourself that you’ll surely appreciate!

Connect with Kenny:Website| LinkedIn| Instagram| Facebook| TikTok

7. Highlight the miracle for all people!

Noemi Chavez, Lead Pastor at Revive Church says…

Traditions can feel like Groundhog Day—until we remember their deeper purpose. Yearly celebrations in the church calendar can seem repetitive, but faith traditions aren’t just about repeating the past—they’re about re-telling the story of Christ to new generations in ways they’ve never experienced before. Across all of society, people value yearly rhythms, and the church is no different. My humble encouragement to leaders is this: How can you make the story memorable for children? How can you make it relatable for those new to the faith? And how can you invite your team to truly remember—to re-live—the beauty of how this divine story became our story? Let your creatives dream, not burn out. Create space for inspiration that doesn’t leave them exhausted by the time they’re with their families. When we first planted our church, shifting from Spanish-speaking traditions to a more Western model, we felt pressure to hold a Christmas Eve candlelight service. For over a decade, we did it. But as Latino pastors leading a multiethnic church, this meant our family was often late to Noche Buena—a sacred, joy-filled time for us. Then one year, we asked: What if we held the candlelight service a few days earlier? What if we created space for both the sacred gathering and the family celebration? That one change allowed our leaders and their families to fully enter into Christmas joy—without choosing between ministry and loved ones. And yes, there are still people who deeply value attending a Christmas Eve service. But the beautiful truth is: the Church is big. Other local congregations offer that experience. I’m not afraid of our people visiting other churches for something meaningful. We’re all part of the same story. So this Christmas, ask yourself: What are the opportunities for joy, celebration, and embodiment of this glorious story? How can your community find themselves in the Advent—anchored in hope, alive with wonder, and shaped by the arrival of a Savior who changed everything?

Connect with Noemi:Website| Instagram

8. Start With Souls, Not Songs

Phillip, Reverend at First Church of Mendon says…

The best answer will be different depending on your circumstances. Let’s use a very small church of 8-10 members as the example. For a pastor in a small church of 8-10 members who wants the best Christmas 2025 everm the one most practical thing to start working on now (July/August) is: Build a Personal Invitation Campaign that Mobilizes the Whole Church Why? With a small church, relationships are your greatest strength. Christmas is the best time of year when people are open to invitations, tradition, and spiritual reflection. But impact in December starts with preparation in summer. If each of your 8 members starts praying for, connecting with, and planning to invite 2–3 people or families over the next 5 months, you could double or triple attendance at your Christmas events—without extra budget, tech, or staff. — What to Do NOW: 1. Hold a July/August “Christmas Prayer Challenge” * Ask each member to write down 2–3 names of people to pray for and eventually invite. * Give them a simple card or bookmark as a reminder. * Pray together once a week for these people. 2. Plan a “Friend-Friendly” Christmas Experience * Start designing a warm, memorable, 45–60 min service with music, scripture, a message of hope, and food afterward. * Make it special *but not complicated*—candles, children reading verses, testimonies, etc. 3. Equip Members with Simple Tools * Create invitation cards (printed or digital) by October. * Coach people on how to naturally invite friends (“We’d love to have you at our Christmas service—no pressure, just come celebrate with us.”) * Help members plan pre-Christmas coffees, cookies, or carolingas soft introductions to the church. Long-Term Bonus: Doing this builds a culture of evangelism, hospitality, and prayer, not just a one-time event. It also prepares your church to grow sustainably.

Connect with Phillip:Website| Facebook

9. Want to double your attendance on Christmas? Focus on getting one of these a day starting now.

Ryan Wakefield, CEO at Church Fuel says…

At Summit Park Church, we set one simple visitor goal for 2025: one new family a day planning their visit. And guess what? We’re on track to hit it! Here’s a challenge for you: start 100 days out from Christmas and set the same goal. Imagine welcoming 100 new families you can connect with and personally invite to your Christmas celebration. So, how do you get one “Plan Your Visit” every day? For us at Summit Park, the answer has been simple: we let the Church Fuel team build and run our Visitor System. They manage our Meta Invite Campaigns (where we spend just $11.50/day) and Google Ad Grant Campaigns (leveraging $47/day of Google’s grant money). We’ll set an attendance record this year at Christmas because we have a system in place to meet new people every day.

Connect with Ryan:Website| Instagram| Facebook

10. Recruit and train volunteers and hospitality now

Dan Wunderlich, Director (DG); Pastor (LUMC) at Defining Grace; Lakeside UMC says…

The Christmas season always requires extra volunteers – even in small and medium size churches. There are extra events and often extra services, especially for Christmas Eve. This means extra hospitality (greeters, parking lot, cafe, help/check-in desk, etc.), extra facilitation (ushers, tech, prayer leaders, musicians, etc.), and extra childcare (nursery, classes, parties, etc.). Even if you don’t have a ton of extra stuff, you are going to have regular volunteers who will travel this year, who can only work some events or services due to family commitments, or who may want to be able to attend at least one service where they’re not serving. And some of these folks won’t let you know until early-to-mid December. You don’t want to be scrambling any more than you already naturally will be. Christmas Eve services and similar events also usually have extra components that are not a part of weekly services, like candle lighting. Pulling someone in to serve last minute with no training, even if they’re there every Sunday, opens you up to things being missed. Capitalize on the excitement around your Fall Launch to recruit more people than you need on a regular basis so that you have time to train and get them into a rotation.

Connect with Dan:Website

11. Disciple-Making

Bill Couchenour, Director at Exponential says…

Become personal disciple-makers and develop real relationships with people that don’t know Jesus

Connect with Bill:Website

Final Thoughts

The leaders who contributed to this collection have learned something most churches discover too late: Christmas becomes meaningful when the planning and intention is intentional.

These life-changing experiences don’t emerge from mid-December brainstorming sessions. Right now, your future Christmas volunteers are wondering if anyone will ask them to serve. Your facility needs systems that work under pressure. Your pastoral team needs spiritual reserves for the marathon ahead. Your community needs you to think beyond one weekend and toward life change.

Walk your sanctuary today.
Picture it filled with searchers, skeptics, and saints.

Then ask yourself: what needs to happen between now and then to make sure each person encounters something real?

Your answer to that question becomes your August priority list.
December will reveal what August decided.