A Christmas Eve Church Service on Altar Live
The 2022 holiday season is officially here! It’s time to deck the halls, trim the tree, and plan for all the festivities this season has to offer. We want this Christmas season to be as joyful and stress-free as it can possibly be. So why not take this opportunity to offer your community a new way to engage with your church online? Altar Live is the perfect place to keep your attendees engaged, connected, and active during your Christmas Eve church service.
We all know the Christmas Eve service is a big deal. It’s the night before Christmas! The excitement is palpable and people are more open and invested into what churches have to offer. In this new digital age, an online church service is not a backup plan, it is THE plan. It is a way to gather in worship and true community while expanding your reach. Christmas is a time for community and now we have the ability to gather together wherever we are! Why not take advantage of that?
Host an Online Christmas Church Service
Why is having an online Christmas service important?
Is it important to have an online Christmas service? Yes! Having an online Christmas service can be important for your church community. An online Christmas program creates accessibility for family members and friends who might not otherwise been able to join in person. It means that your community can experience a worship service or a Christmas play together in real time. An online Christmas service means grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends near can far have the chance to sit together, see and hear one another no matter the distance. It opens the window to easily invite new friends and family to join, perhaps even for the first time.
How to prepare for an online Christmas service
There's a lot to consider when preparing for an online Christmas service or online Christmas event. However, before planning for your online Christmas service, it's important to first ask yourself a few key questions. Asking the right questions will help guide you as you plan and prepare for Christmas online with your faith community.
Here are a few questions to ask when preparing for an online Christmas service:
- How far in advance will I need to start planning and preparing my events?
- What kind of communication will need to go our leading up to the event?
- Will there need to be limits to the digital registration?
- What will the format be?
- What are unique ways we can increase participation and reach new people?
➡️ For a full list of questions be sure to download our free Christmas guide to maximize community participation during Christmas.
How to Plan an Online Christmas Service
Pick a Format
For your Christmas Eve church service, it’s incredibly important to choose a format. Start by figuring out how you want to structure the service. With online church services, you have a lot of freedom to mix it up and incorporate more participation with the congregation. Do you want your service to be fully online? A mix of in-person and online? A pre-recorded service or live? There really is no wrong way to do it. Altar Live can do it all.
Build Your Team
Team work makes the dream work! Once you’ve chosen a format for your Christmas Eve church service, it’s time to assemble your team. On Altar Live Hosts and Greeters are the life source to an event. Your team will facilitate, answer questions, start discussions, monitor the chat, and make your service run smoothly. It might be helpful to take the time and have a Christmas Eve service training session for your hospitality team. Need help creating your team? Check out our tutorial video series and this article.
Plan Your Service
Okay, you’ve chosen a format and now it’s time for the fun part: planning the service. We’re all familiar with the long awaited Christmas Eve church service. But you may be wondering: can everything be accomplished online? The answer is YES, but you may have to get creative. Don’t worry we’ll walk you through some ideas:
Online Christmas Service Ideas
The Candlelight Service
Candles? Online? Is it even possible? On Altar Live it is! In every Altar Event, each attendee has the option to take a seat in a row where they can join a watch party. These rows allow people to connect, chat, and be in fellowship together during the service. Learn about them here. During your candlelit Christmas Eve church service, encourage each row to turn their camera on, turn their lights off, and light a candle. Each row will have their own little row of candle light.
The Carol Sing
Most online church platforms make it impossible for the congregation to sing together. People may be singing along on the other side of the screen, but how would you know? This Christmas, you can use Altar Live to make the beloved carol sing actually happen!
While the worship band sings on the screen, encourage each row to turn on their microphone and join in song together. Don’t worry if you sing off key or say the wrong words! This is a time to celebrate and worship together. Come as you are.
Prayer & Contemplation
The Christmas season is not all sugar plums and gingerbread houses. In fact, this season can be really tough. It’s a season of anticipation, stress, and grief. It may bring up some difficult memories for people. As a community we really want to honor that and give people the space they need to pray and contemplate.
During your Christmas Eve church service or even before that, don’t hesitate to set aside time for prayer and contemplation. People can pray together in their rows, or have people submit anonymous prayer requests to put on slides to show during the service.
💡 Tip: For engaging online Christmas service ideas and church Christmas event ideas, be sure to save our free Christmas Guide which includes over 20+ ideas on how to engage your digital community.
Spread the Word
The countdown to your Christmas Eve church service has begun! Tell your team to spread the word. Encourage your community to invite friends and family. The more the merrier on Altar Live!
Why have a Christmas Eve Church Service on Altar Live?
Altar Live offers video conference software, consulting & training for your growing online church. So attendees will feel just as connected as if attending in-person. On Altar Live you can truly be with one another in watch parties, tables, and rooms. We can be with each other face to face. Altar Live is the perfect for a Christmas Eve church service so loved ones can come together no matter their location.
This Christmas, you can make your online services unforgettable. With Altar Live you can really have a sense of community with your loved ones no matter where they are.
➡️ Need more Christmas Event ideas? Check out this FREE downloadable guide
