Both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on Sunday this year. How will we make these days, which might tend toward lower attendance, extra special?
Throw a birthday party for Jesus. In the hour before the worship service, celebrate! Include balloons and a birthday cake. Kids will love it.
Serve hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. Families with young children may have trouble getting to church that morning. Provide breakfast.
Bring your toys to church. Tell families a week ahead to let their children bring their favorite new toy to show and tell. Turn it into an object lesson on the best gift of all: salvation in Jesus Christ.
Carol fest. You can never have too many Christmas carols. Sing them all, one more time. If your worship leader is out of town, let unlikely singers take a turn. It will warm even the Grinch’s heart.
Tell tales. Build a service around worshippers’ personal stories. Share how God has moved in wonderful ways this year.
Pray in the new year. Make the service all about prayer: prayer for the nation, prayer for the church. Place requests for salvations in a bowl on the communion table. Pray over them all year long.
Plan a consecration service. Help people dedicate themselves to God’s purpose in 2017. For those who need a fresh start, this is day to do it. Or baptize someone at the start of the first worship service of the year. That would be a fine sign of a year-long commitment to evangelism.
Share the Lord’s Supper. An ideal way to honor Christ at the start of the new year.
Look for worship ideas for use all year ‘round in Resource magazine. This leadership and planning guide is written especially for IBSA churches, and it’s free! Subscribe at Communications@ IBSA.org, or read online at
resource.IBSA.org.