Many churches lump Christmas and Easter together when considering marketing to their local community. Many churches choose to concentrate on Easter rather than Christmas and, as a result, miss a wonderful opportunity in front of them each year. That is to take advantage of one of the best church outreach seasons of the year to reach the nonbelievers in your communities.
Nearly all U.S. Christians (96%) say they celebrate Christmas. No big surprise there. But a new Pew Research Center survey also finds that 81% of non-Christians in the United States celebrate Christmas, testifying to the holiday’s wide acceptance – or, at least, its unavoidability – in American society.
According to a Barna survey, the entire month of December lands in the top 15 of the highest worship attendance weekends of the year.
Yes, Easter is number one on the list. Still, these two holidays are very different in the eyes of the nonbeliever. And if your purpose as a church is to attract nonbelievers and introduce them to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, then Christmas may be the best time to do it.
What makes this season such a great opportunity for people to visit your church?
Here are four reasons December could be your best season to attract new visitors to church.
1. Christmas is at the forefront of everyone's mind. Christmas is not sneaking up on you like Easter is. (at least for the nonbeliever). Sure, most Christians know Easter is coming, but many could not tell you when Easter is in 2024. There is so much marketing hype around Christmas, beginning in September, that everyone knows it's coming. Take advantage of all the marketing hype already out there.
2. The message of Christmas is vastly different than Easter, especially for the nonbeliever. For the nonbeliever, Christmas brings warm and fuzzy feelings of the virgin birth, angels, and wise men. On the other hand, Easter brings feelings of betrayal, torture, and death. Yes, Jesus rose on the third day, but for the nonbeliever, the significance of that event is hard to understand.
3. Christmas depression is a real thing. Depression around the Christmas holiday is quite common. Sadness over missing a loved one, the loneliness of spending the holiday away from family, and financial stress can all contribute to the holiday blues. Sadness is a powerful emotion. Attending church and inviting Jesus into your heart are very emotional decisions; I don't have any analytical evidence to support this claim. Still, I imagine many people attend church alone on Christmas, looking for a connection during Christmas.
4. LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40 NIV
Loving your neighbor begins with your neighborhood. Many churches support missionaries worldwide, which are worthy causes, but neglect to spend anything inviting their local communities to church on Sunday. Your mission begins in your own backyard.
There are so many ways you can reach out to your local neighborhoods and invite them to church this Holiday season. And if your purpose as a church is to attract nonbelievers and introduce them to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, then Christmas may be the best time to do it.
If your church cannot afford to do any form of outreach advertising this Christmas reach out to me. I will personally design and print you some invite cards you can give to your members to invite others.
John Squiric
COO Truth Advertising "Successful Church Marketing is not about products. Successful Church Marketing is about people and how to use biblical principles to attract them and ultimately bring them into a relationship with Jesus."