While nine in 10 pastors plan for their churches to host Christmas Day services this year, there may be plenty of space in the pews for those who actually attend.
A recent LifeWay Research study of 1,000 Protestant pastors shows that 91 percent of Protestant pastors plan to have services on Christmas Day while 69 percent said they plan to host Christmas Eve services.
“Having church on Christmas Day when it falls on a Sunday seems as if it would be as much of a given as having Thanksgiving on a Thursday, but this has been an issue of discussion and contention in recent years,” said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research.
“Also just because an overwhelming majority of pastors think that way doesn’t mean those in their congregations necessarily share their perspective.”
According to a December 2010 LifeWay Research report, 74 percent of Americans agree (strongly or somewhat) that “Christmas is primarily a day for religious celebration and observance,” yet 67 percent of all Americans also agree that “Many of the things I enjoy during the Christmas season have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.”
“Churches see these conflicting values, and we wanted to know how many churches plan to conduct services on each day — since that is also such a family day, particularly the morning,” Stetzer said.
Pastors were asked, “Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on Sunday this year. As a result, does your church plan to have services on the following days: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day?”
Six percent of Protestant churches plan to have a Christmas Eve service but no service on Christmas Day. Twenty-eight percent plan to have a Christmas Day service but no service on Christmas Eve.
Almost two-thirds (63 percent) plan to host both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.
Protestant pastors in the South are the least likely (62 percent) to host a Christmas Eve service compared to other regions.
Full-time (71 percent) and part-time (74 percent) pastors are more likely to be planning a Christmas Eve service than bivocational or volunteer (53 percent) pastors. Pastors identifying themselves as mainline (87 percent) are more likely to have a service on Christmas Eve compared to those identifying themselves as evangelical (70 percent).
Nearly as many Protestant pastors plan to host services on New Year’s Day (88 percent) as Christmas Day (91 percent).
Far fewer are planning New Year’s Eve services. By comparison, only 26 percent said they are planning for their church to host a Dec. 31 meeting.
In Alabama, an informal survey of 225 people by The Alabama Baptist found that 41.7 percent of them are in churches that will hold a Christmas Eve service, while 96.9 percent of those same churches will hold a Christmas Day service. Of those same churches, only 6.9 percent will hold a New Year’s Eve service, while 95.1 percent will hold a New Year’s Day service. (LifeWay, TAB)
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Christmas season church services in Alabama
The Alabama Baptist conducted an informal survey through SurveyMonkey to which 225 people responded over a five-day period. The following information came from the survey.
Those planning to hold a service:
Christmas Eve — 41.7%
Christmas Day — 96.9%
New Year’s Eve — 6.9%
New Year’s Day — 95.1%
- The majority of those holding Christmas Eve services are planning a candlelight and/or Communion service. Several also mentioned lighting the Christ candle in the Advent wreath, Christmas carols, the reading of Luke 2, a short sermon or devotion, a come-and-go Communion or an emphasis on the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. One church is having an identical service Christmas Eve and Christmas morning so members can choose.
- The majority of those holding Christmas Day services plan to hold one worship service and no other activities. A small percentage does plan to keep the normal Sunday routine.
- For both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, a large majority believes about a quarter of those in attendance will be guests.
- The majority of those holding New Year’s Day services plan to follow the normal Sunday routine, but a good number do plan to make some adjustments to the schedule such as holding only one worship service, not having Sunday School/Bible study or not holding an evening service.
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