As a church leader, you know the importance of planning ahead for your congregation’s celebrations, and all the ways they’ll be shepherded through this season. But so much happens between October and the New Year, we want to aid you as much as possible as you try to not let things fall through the cracks in your church’s life and ministry calendar.
Today we have a flyover view of what types of events and initiatives your church can participate in from now through the end of the year, and how to show up as a spiritual leader when your own life is so busy too:
October
This is the season of football games, homecoming, and Halloween. No matter your church’s level of involvement in cultural holidays or local school festivities, this is one time of year that the community around you is going to show up for local events. The weather and fall colors are glorious, vacation time has petered off between summer and Christmas, and families are ready to show up for pumpkin patches, bonfires, and so many other kinds of festivities.
- This is a beautiful time to encourage your congregation to consider a renewed involvement in the communities they are already connected to through work, school, and extracurriculars. Rather than pulling inward and isolating during these fall months, it’s a great time to reach out and share the love of God with people who have perhaps never experienced it before.
- Wherever your church falls between Halloween to Reformation Day on the October 31st spectrum, your church pastors and leaders have an opportunity to address some of the fear and division that this day can create. Consider guiding your congregation through thoughtful conversations about what it might look like to faithfully engage in the world around us this October.
November
Thanksgiving Day brings with it family dynamic stresses, the looming busyness of Christmas, the madness of weekend sales, and so many other things that push and pull their attention and affection.
This is a chance to encourage your church to slow down and pursue healthy, loving interactions, both in their spiritual and biological families.
- Your church could hold a potluck style thanksgiving feast (either church-wide or in small-group homes) with a chance for members of the congregation to share their gratitude about something in their life from the past year. This is a beautiful tradition that encourages congregations to practice celebration, grief, remembrance in community.
- Encourage your congregation through sermons, 1:1 conversations, or even through your church newsletter to seek out the peace, light, and joy of Christ, even as they might dread walking into a particular Aunt or cousin’s home on Thanksgiving Day.
December
The possibilities are seemingly endless for December. There are Christmas festivities galore, and your church likely has well-established traditions already.
It’s beautiful to have and keep traditions, but it can also be good to find ways to innovate and help your church see Christmas with new eyes. Here are some ways you could encourage that this year:
- Let your congregation lead the charge in service and charity opportunities that come up around the holiday season. It’s great if your church has always served in your local soup kitchen in December – don’t quit doing that if the need for volunteers remains! But consider how you could mobilize and empower your congregation by helping them realize that they can take initiative in an area they’re passionate about. Maybe foster care is near to the hearts of many in your church, so a group of volunteers decides to shop for local foster families’ Christmas lists. Whatever the case may be, show your church family that Christmas is a great time to find opportunities for involvement in a new ministry or volunteer opportunity!
- Encourage your church to become curious about new ways of viewing the season – for example, if your church has never explored the journey of focusing on Advent and then the 12 Days of Christmas that start on Christmas day, that could be a refreshing and new opportunity for members of your congregation to engage in the celebration of Jesus’ birth.
We truly hope some of these ideas are refreshing and inspiring for you and your leadership teams as you consider how you can best serve and love your church throughout the remainder of the year.
Planning for holidays can be a lot – and yet the glory of God is the end goal of all of it. Focus on how you can glorify God and teach your congregation to do the same, and watch how new traditions, ideas, and passions flow from that.
