Hot Topics (Part 1)
December is the busiest season in the church world.
Between Christmas services, end-of-year wrap-up, and planning for 2026, you probably don’t have the time or mental bandwidth to digest a content-heavy podcast series.
So this month, we’re doing something fun. This series will focus in on some “Hot Topics”—things every church leader is talking about and thinking about right now.
What better way to kick off this series than by talking about Christmas? In this episode, Sean and I have a real, honest conversation about what’s on pastors’ minds as Christmas approaches.
A tight, engaging Christmas service should make people think, ‘It’s over already?' [episode 426] #unstuckchurch Share on X Most likely, most of our regulars are coming with new people, and they are trusting that we will handle that well. [episode 426] #unstuckchurch Share on X Make sure there’s a clear takeaway, a clear next step for people after they’ve heard the message. [episode 426] #unstuckchurch Share on X The church is the only organization that exists for people outside of it. [episode 426] #unstuckchurch Share on X
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Transcript
Sean:
Well, welcome to the Unstuck Church podcast. I’m Sean, your host, and I’m joined as always by my teammate Amy Anderson. This December series, we’re keeping things kind of informal and hopefully fun. Amy?
Amy:
Yes.
Sean:
With some conversations about hot topics that every church leader is thinking about right now.
Amy:
Yeah, that’s right. We like to bring some fun. And what better way to kick off this series than talking about Christmas? Because if you’re listening to this podcast when it drops, we’re just, I think, 15 days away from Christmas. Are you ready, Sean?
Sean:
15 days. I’m not ready at all. But hopefully pastors everywhere right now are in full on prep mode. I hope.
Amy:
Yeah, exactly. So today we’re gonna have just a real honest conversation about what’s on pastor’s minds as Christmas approaches. And I know this because I’m married to a lead pastor, so I at least I have a little frontline experience there. And both of us, you know, me and you, Sean, we used to be in charge of the weekend services in one way or another in our past lives. And church teams. So I just think maybe we’ve got some fun things to share and fun things for pastors to think about in this two week run.
Sean:
We definitely have opinions, don’t we?
Amy:
We do have opinions.
Sean:
Okay. Before we get to that though, I wanna stop and say thanks to our podcast sponsor Donorbox. If you’re still relying on cash and checks for your offerings, you should know that actually half of churchgoers already prefer to give electronically. Donorbox has a solution called Live Kiosk that helps churches like yours boost their giving by up to 35%. Imagine if you had thousands of more dollars in income each month to help with your ministry. All you need is a tablet, a card reader and then Donorbox’s app. Donorbox lets your congregation make ties, offerings, and donations instantly with cards or digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can get two months for free if you go to donorbox.org/unstuckpodcast.
All right, Amy, so, let’s start with a controversial question, I think, which probably does not have a right answer to it. Who are Christmas services for? Is it for church members or for guests? How would you respond?
Amy:
You know, it’s funny because we had this conversation at one of our cohort gatherings. This was probably a year or two ago. But I was really surprised that everybody in the room was not united on that question. And part of it was where people were located in the country and what happens in their communities over Christmas, like when everybody kind of leaves for Christmas versus people coming there. But I think my opinion on this as always is that Christmas service, it’s for both. It’s for both the new people and it’s for our regulars, but for most churches, this is like a Super Bowl weekend to reach their community, right? People who are not currently connected to faith through the church, and they design their services with the outsider in mind as they celebrate the birth of Jesus.
And the reason for this is that, I don’t know if you experienced this, Sean, but you know, we always talk about the big weekends, Christmas, Easter, fall kickoff. Christmas really seems to be that weekend or that it’s not always on the weekend, but that time where people outside the church are actually just more open to coming to church. There’s nostalgia wrapped up in Christmas, there’s traditions, there’s family, and there just seems, it seems to be a part of what a lot of people do or a lot of people are open to around that time. So my personal bent, when I was leading our team to design our Christmas services, those were the things we were keeping in mind. Most likely, most of our regulars are coming with new people, and they are trusting that we will handle that well, and that we will put together a great experience that might just, you know, ping the heart of their family or friends that show up with them.
Sean:
Yep. That’s good. You know what, Amy too, I think one of the trends that we’ve seen is that of all the people who attend church, they don’t attend your church regularly. Maybe they’re there once a month, maybe even less than that. Once every six or eight weeks during the rest of the year, they’re probably all gonna be there on Christmas Eve, right?
Amy:
That’s right.
Sean:
Everybody together. And so you kinda get a good count of the number of people who would say, I’m a part of this church. But also when you have everyone there, if a good number of those people are inviting somebody, now you have your greatest opportunity for people who are outside the church and faith of the entire year.
Amy:
Yep.
Sean:
So it really does need to be for both.
Amy:
I agree. All right. You threw a hard one at me. Let me throw one back to you. So when you’re planning Christmas services, what do you think is better? A more traditional approach or a more like flashy approach to the services?
Sean:
Yes. I would say I lean more traditional.
Amy:
Okay.
Sean:
But actually maybe the better word. And you used this word already, Amy is nostalgic. I think that’s better than traditional.
Amy:
That’s better. Yeah. We’re not talking pipe organs and hymns and all this, like a traditional worship service. We’re talking about Christmas tradition, right?
Sean:
That’s right. Yeah. It’s the nostalgia. There’s just something about the familiarity that hits different at Christmas time. And you know, people already know the songs, they know the words to the songs. This is the one time for your music team that people can stand and sing the songs without even need to have the, the lyrics on the screen.
Amy:
Right.
Sean:
Right? They don’t even need to see the words. They already know ’em, those moments trigger memories and emotion of Christmas. You don’t have to work hard to create meaning. It’s kind of already built into Christmas. I think the danger for us is when we try to get too creative with it, you know, worship teams sometimes will rearrange the songs just to keep it fresh for them.
Amy:
Sometimes?
Sean:
Oftentimes they do. But that can actually pull the congregation really outta the moment. Outta that Christmas moment. And I don’t think it delivers on what people who are attending the service are actually there for. They’re there for the nostalgia. So yeah, I’d go with familiar, what feels like home. You don’t need to have flashy lights or that new arrangement to make Christmas powerful. Nostalgia really does the heavy lifting for us. I think.
Amy:
Well said.
Sean:
Amy, I think realistically two church leaders already have their services planned for this year. Again, I said I hope earlier.
Amy:
I hope so. I hope so.
Sean:
So if you were walking in their shoes right now, plans already in place, but also honestly open to some outside input for little tweaks that could make a huge impact in their services, what kinds of things would you need to hear? Maybe give them just a little pep talk.
Amy:
Yeah. Well, first I’d say, you know, there’s still time to make sure we’re singing the songs in that traditional or nostalgic way, right?
Sean:
Yeah.
Amy:
So if we’ve gotten overly creative, we still have time to pull the reins back and ask the question, would it be better to sing it, you know, the traditional way. Another pep talk I would give as you’re preparing for the service, is just make sure you welcome new people early in the service. Like, don’t wait until that 30 minute mark to welcome new people and you know, give them some cues as to what to expect.
Another one that I think is still doable, just even at Christmas, maybe especially at Christmas, make sure there’s a clear takeaway, a clear next step for people after they’ve heard the message, bring clarity to what they can do as a result of that.
And then of course, be sure to invite people back. Right? And let me just say this though, if next weekend, the weekend after Christmas is, I don’t mean this badly, but a throwaway service, you know, meaning we’re gonna have a different worship team or a special guest, a drop in teacher. If that’s what you’re doing, and I understand why churches do it, you know, preparing for this big Super Bowl takes a lot of energy, I would invite them back when it’s going to feel like your church again, right? If you’ve got a new series, for example, maybe kick it off a week after the next weekend. If you’re kind of swapping out teams and leadership in the field, and I think this is why a lot of churches take that weekend after Christmas off, they kind of create this finish line. I mean, I just know more and more churches are doing this. It’s kind of a finish line for the church. They give their volunteers the weekend back, and then when they come back, you know, the first week in January, there’s the month, when they come back that first week in January. It just, everyone’s, you know, revitalized and they’re ready to go take the next run. So what about you, Sean?
Sean:
That’s right.
Amy:
What pep talk would you give, or what would you wanna remind your senior pastor of as they head into these last two weeks of preparation?
Sean:
Well, let me double down on what you just said, and I think I would, same thing. Start by reminding them just to look beyond the Christmas Eve service. Like Yeah. The services matter, they do. But what happens after Christmas is just as important, you know, is your January series something that actually connects with where people are in their life right now? You know, this is the time of year when people, I think are really open to change. They’re rethinking their priorities, they’re setting goals for the next year. You know, they’re trying to think about what’s my purpose in the new year? And that’s not the moment to launch into a 14-week series on Leviticus. Right?
Amy:
Is it ever a good time to launch into?
Sean:
Well, that is a great question for another podcast, but it’s really the moment to meet people where they are with something that feels, you know, relevant and hopeful for their life. And then with two weeks left to Christmas, I’d say, you know, use that time to kind of rally your people. Remind them to pray for their friends and family, to take a chance and invite someone. You know, most people just need a little nudge. Just that small personal invite is still really matters. And it could literally be the thing that changes someone’s story in that season.
Amy:
That’s really good.
Sean:
Speaking of story, Amy, let’s you and me, let’s do a little story time. When you think back to the Christmas services that you oversaw for so many years, which ones stand out to you? Were there any that created like just a significant momentum heading into the new year?
Amy:
Whew. The last time I did this was 13 years ago, but let me see if I can. I mean, I have many, right?
Sean:
Just like yesterday.
Amy:
Just like yesterday. But, you know, our swing thought for this was we just had the mindset to create an experience that was plus’ed, right? It was a little bump, but it was not meant to be completely different from what people would experience every weekend. So with just 15 days to go, here’s some of the doable ideas, let’s say you can pull back, always tell stories, right? If we had enough time, we would put those faith stories on video, but stories of life change, stories that people outside the faith would relate to were some of the key things we did every holiday.
And by the way, I think it’s worth mentioning that the lead pastor might actually need a little more time for their message on Christmas because we know there are so many people in the room that don’t know him or her. And so often I think a lead pastor just needs to be given a little bit more time so upfront they can tell a good story, you know, so that the people in the room can get to know the pastor. You know, it’ll build trust with the listeners. And, you know, we often used humor in an opening story that would communicate to everybody, Hey, this person’s just a normal person. Right? They’re not weird.
Sean:
That’s good.
Amy:
And it relaxes the room a lot. And I liked how you talked about people’s willingness to make changes in the new year, you know, the people who are coming to your service. And so some of the series that we did after Christmas, one of ’em was called Life’s Too Short. Right? Life’s Too Short To Hold a Grudge, To Work Too Much, to Play It Safe. And often we did relationship series. I think there was one called I Do, I Don’t, We Did, Undone, Do Over. So it kind of had broad, kind of a broad reach to everybody in their relational life. One year we did a series called Ask Anything that followed Christmas, and so it was just this openness like, man, ask us anything, we’re gonna have a team up here and we’re gonna answer the spiritual questions that you had.
Sean:
That’s interesting.
Amy:
Yeah. Yeah. And I think some of the other pluses were just around creative elements, you know? Again, warmth, nostalgia, how you do your lighting, special instruments on Christmas that evoke that, a good cello, violin. Those were these things that if they came back for the next series, it would still feel a lot like our church because we didn’t do something so off the wall. And especially probably not off the wall on Christmas, but how about you? How would you answer that question?
Sean:
You know, the one that really stands out for me, when I was serving at Community Christian in the Chicagoland area, we borrowed an idea from Granger called Let It Be Christmas, and it was the Christmas story told through the Beatles music.
Amy:
Oh, cool.
Sean:
And it just worked. You know, it tapped into that nostalgia for people, not just for Christmas, but also for the Beatles music too. You know, the songs were familiar, the melodies really of the Beatles music are timeless. And people just really instantly connected with it. It wasn’t overly complicated from an experience perspective, you know, everybody knew the music that made it an easy invite for people. You know, you didn’t have to explain to their friends, you know, here’s one of these kind of off the wall things that’s happening. It was just one of those, you gotta come and see this moments in our church. And the result from that really was, was huge crowds that came to that. Multiple different services, big crowds. And over time it actually became something people look forward to every year. We started doing it every single year.
Amy:
Oh, you did?
Sean:
There was a sense of, Oh yeah. There was a sense of tradition that kind of built around it, which was great.
Amy:
Wow.
Sean:
And I’m not saying, you know, that churches should go and do Beatles Christmas services, but…
Amy:
Well, what would they have to do in this decade? I’m not sure. The Beatles would bring that back. That’s a good question.
Sean:
Yeah. It just raises a good question for us. What could you do at your church that creates the same kind of easy invite for your people? Something that’s approachable, familiar, but it still points people towards Jesus. Christmas is already this kind of cultural phenomenon for us. Everybody’s paying attention at Christmas time. So what if celebrating the birth of Jesus became a springboard into the season of new beginnings for people in your mission field. Like, that’s the kind of momentum that can carry right into your January.
So, Amy, last question before we wrap all this up. What’s, from your perspective, what’s one thing that pastors should stop doing when it comes to Christmas services?
Amy:
I don’t know if I have a specific. Well, don’t have so many announcements that you tune people out, like make this service tight, continuously engaging. Make people feel like, I wish this service was longer. It’s over already. Right? So cut out the things that don’t need to be in there. And I would go back to some sort of filter. If you’re designing this with the outsider in mind, you have to be at your best when it comes to the language you use, what you do announce. I think everything should go through that filter of new people. So I don’t know. What about you? Nothing like blatantly comes to mind with the churches I’m thinking of. Did you have anything in mind?
Sean:
You know, I think there’s a little sense of trying to outdo last year that exists in some churches.
Amy:
That’s true.
Sean:
You know, especially if you had some success with last year and it did create some momentum. There’s this idea that we kind of need to outdo it. And around Christmas time, I don’t think you do.
Amy:
Right.
Sean:
Every Christmas doesn’t have to be bigger. Louder. Flashier. I think that’s a trap that pastors and creative teams can fall into.
Amy:
I agree.
Sean:
Again, we need to go back and tap into that nostalgia. What is that thing or those things that people are coming every Christmas to experience. Because it reminds them of their family. It reminds them of a time in their life. It reminds them of the birth of Jesus and the hope that we have. I think that’s what we need to tap into and not try to outdo. What maybe we’ve already done.
Amy:
Yeah. You know, let me go back for a second. I didn’t say too much about the language, but you just reminded me. I remember you did a secret shopper once—we don’t do those anymore—but where you would say that I feel like I just sat down at the Thanksgiving table and no one’s talking to me. And I do think, you know, we have all sizes of churches that listen to this podcast. I think sometimes if you’re a smaller church. You can fall into that. I mean, you there, it’s exciting when the family shows up. Right? Especially Christmas, like you said, when everybody kind of makes that a priority, but just don’t make it feel like a family thing. Make sure you’re welcoming those guests. Make sure you know, like we’re, I mean, honestly again, the church is the only organization that exists for people outside of it. We want them to be the valued guests when they show up for our Christmas services as we talk about Jesus.
Sean:
Yeah. I think a good learning for a lot of pastors could be, if you have the capacity this year, go to a Christmas service at someone else’s church.
Amy:
Oh.
Sean:
Walk in someplace that no one knows you. Go for the first time and experience what it feels like. You may learn a lot of things that you wanna make sure you do in your church. You wanna make, you may learn a lot of things you wanna make sure you never do in your church. But I think that can be really eye opening because when it is a really family type experience, then a lot of times outsiders, people who are outside the church right now will walk in and feel like I’m not a part of that family.
Amy:
That’s right.
Sean:
And that’s the opposite of the environment we want to create for them.
Amy:
What a great suggestion.
Sean:
So just testing that at another church is a good exercise.
Amy:
Yeah.
Sean:
Well, hey Amy, before we wrap up, we just wanna say a huge thank you to everyone who’s been listening to the Unstuck Church podcast throughout 2025. Your engagement with us, your feedback to us and your support really mean the world to us.
Amy:
Yeah, absolutely. We are so grateful for this community of church leaders who are committed to leading healthy, growing churches. And if you’ve been thinking about taking your church through one of our consulting processes, whether that’s the Unstuck process, the staffing and structure process, or a multi-site launch process, this would be a great time to reach out. I know our early first quarters are already filling up.
Sean:
We are already booking our consulting engagements well into Q2 of 2026. So if you wanna get on the calendar, don’t wait. Head over to theunstuckgroup.com. Let’s start a conversation about how we can help you lead your church to greater health and impact.
Amy:
And thanks again for listening and we’ll see you next time on The Unstuck Church Podcast: Unplugged. Next week, we’re hitting on another hot topic and it’s pastoral burnout. I think this is gonna be so relevant. I’ve worked with so many pastors this year who are leading growing churches, and just a little crispy from that run. So we’re including one of our consultants, Jimmy McLoud, he’s the lead pastor of First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio, to join us as he shares his story and can speak to our pastors who are listening. So we will see you back next week.
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