Christmas is fast approaching. With more than 18 months of leading worship in what feels like completely uncharted territory, maybe just the mention of planning and preparing for Advent and Christmas makes you tired. Special services, rhythms, and seasons require a level of margin and energy that every person is struggling to rally at the moment.
Wherever you and your church are in the process of planning for the 2021 Advent Season, here are a few considerations that will hopefully enable to season to be meaningful for you as well as those you serve:
Plan ahead. Determine the songs that you will incorporate into your weekly worship service. Communicate early with your team, clarifying who is available and if there are additional rehearsals, services, or times of preparation that need to be scheduled. Consider the practical details like sound and tech set up, decor, any extra hands, and help you may need in ‘turning a space’ from one service to the next. I have often found the more prepared I am, the more flexible I can be. If we have learned anything during COVID it may be that we have to be prepared for things to be different than planned.
Make space to be and enjoy. So much of what we do serving on staff (whether in a full-time paid position or as a volunteer) is creating the space for the seasons to be meaningful for others. But we must also work to create margin and space for ourselves and our families to enjoy the Advent season. Planning ahead for church, as well as for family time will hopefully create space to avoid resentment and dread about or toward the Church for you, and those you love.
Take off the pressure. Christmas is important. Advent is important. It can be easy to feel like we only have one shot to ‘convince’ people who only darken the doors of a Church during specific seasons, but discipleship is the long game. We can put prideful pressure on ourselves to believe that people’s ability to connect with God and His Church is determined by our ability to execute a flawless gathering - but we are not the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is not helped in His work by our excellence any more than He is hindered by our underwhelming ‘performance.’ So take the pressure off - this does not all hinge on you. None of us are that important, praise God!
Focus your team. Pace yourself with new Christmas songs, new versions, arrangements, and melodies. Remember, for your congregation as well as the team, these are songs we sing for four-six weeks out of the year, so for more than forty weeks, these songs are not in regular rotation. Rather than introducing all-new Christmas songs and melodies, introduce a few, and allow your worship team time to be familiar with new material long before it is added to the weekly schedule.
For a deeper look at the rhythms of Advent for your team, read my post Advent, Christmas & Corporate Worship here.
