Make Christmas Count
Week of November 9 – November 15, 2025
A Monday leadership brief from Forward Creative
Fall is winding down. Thanksgiving is here. And if you're a church leader, you know what that means: you're standing at the front edge of one of the most strategic seasons your church will experience all year.
Between now and the end of January, your church will navigate some of its highest-attendance services, its biggest giving opportunities, and some of the most significant moments for connecting with your community. Christmas Eve. Christmas Sunday. End-of-year giving. New Year's vision casting. These aren't just calendar events. They're bridges. Opportunities to invite, connect, disciple, and grow.
But here's the tension: the opportunity is massive, and so is the workload.
This week, I've been thinking a lot about how churches can steward this season well without burning out their teams or settling for average. Because the truth is, this season doesn't have to feel chaotic. It just requires clarity, rhythm, and the right systems in place.
Here's what's been on my mind as we've worked with churches heading into December and January:
1. Christmas is one of the biggest seasons for the church.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Sunday carry weight. For many churches, these services represent some of the highest attendance of the year. Your community shows up. Guests visit. Families return. It's a moment when people who don't normally walk through your doors might. Your strategy should reflect that weight. Every graphic, every promo video, every social post, every invite tool. This isn't just another Sunday. It's a moment to connect people to the hope of the Gospel in a season when they're already thinking about it.
2. Christmas services deserve more than last-minute promotion.
I've watched too many churches plan incredible services only to market them like an afterthought. A rushed graphic the week before. A single story post. No follow-up. No strategy. Here's the reality: people need multiple touchpoints before they commit. Email. Social. Print. Stories. Text reminders. If you want people to show up, you have to show up consistently in their world first.
Start your promotion now. Not the week of Christmas. Not even two weeks out. Early December teaser content. Mid-December full promotional push. Week of Christmas reminder content. Post-Christmas follow-up systems. If you're not thinking about your Christmas promotion strategy right now, you're already behind.
3. If you're running an end-of-year giving campaign, your media matters.
December is when many churches launch their biggest fundraising push of the year. If that's you, your creative and communication strategy needs to match the importance of the moment.
Here's what strong giving campaigns include from a media perspective:
Video testimonials showing real stories of impact from the year
Ministry highlight reels that connect giving to tangible results
Clear, well-designed graphics with specific goals and CTAs
Consistent email and social campaigns that keep the vision in front of people
Multiple formats: in-service announcements, mailers, social posts, website banners
If you're asking people to give generously, your creative should reflect the weight of what you're building. Forward can help you produce donation graphics, testimonial videos, and campaign content that moves people to action.
4. Your people need tools to invite their friends.
Most people want to invite someone to church for Christmas. They just don't know how. Give them tools. Make it easy. Create shareable Instagram story templates. Write text message scripts they can copy and paste. Design invite cards they can hand out. Build a culture where inviting isn't awkward. It's expected. Your church members are your best marketing team. Equip them with simple, professional, ready-to-use content, and they'll surprise you.
5. January is vision-casting season. Start promoting it now.
Most pastors kick off the new year with a vision series. A sermon series about where the church is headed. What God is calling your community to do in 2026. But here's the thing: if you wait until January to promote it, you've already lost momentum.
Start teasing your vision series in December. Build anticipation. Create hype reels. Design series graphics. Capture the energy of a fresh start while people are still thinking about New Year's resolutions and new beginnings. January is when you cast vision. But December is when you start building the runway.
6. What happens after Christmas matters just as much as Christmas itself.
Let's say your Christmas services are packed. Guests show up. Families visit. Everything goes great. Now what?
Most churches don't have a plan for what happens next. And that's where the opportunity is lost. Post-Christmas follow-up is just as important as Christmas promotion. You need systems in place to stay connected with the people who visited. Welcome emails for first-time guests. Retargeting ads to keep your church top of mind. Follow-up texts inviting them back to your next service or event. Social content that continues the conversation beyond Sunday. Digital discipleship doesn't stop when the service ends. It extends the message beyond the room. Every guest is a story worth stewarding.
7. You don't have to do this alone.
Here's the honest truth: if you're reading this and thinking, "This all makes sense, but I don't have the time or the team to pull it off," you're not alone. Most churches don't. And that's exactly why Forward exists.
We step in as your creative team so you can focus on leading, shepherding, and doing what only you can do. We handle the media. You handle the mission.
Whether it's Christmas service graphics and promo videos, end-of-year giving campaign content, vision series hype reels and launch materials, social media strategy and management, photography for events and services, or invite tools and follow-up systems, we build it. You lead it.
Free Download: Christmas & Year-End Marketing Toolkit for Churches
We've put together a free resource to help you navigate this season with clarity and confidence. Inside, you'll find:
✅ Christmas Service Promotion Timeline
✅ 10 Go-To Post Ideas for December
✅ End-of-Year Giving Campaign Checklist
✅ New Year Vision Series Promotion Strategy
✅ Invite Tools & Templates for Your Church Members
✅ Post-Christmas Follow-Up Strategy
✅ Social Media Best Practices for Churches
✅ Affordable Tools for Creating Quality Content
👉 Download it here: forwardcrtv.com/christmas-toolkit
Final Thought
The next eight weeks are some of the most strategic your church will experience all year. Christmas services. Year-end giving. Vision casting. Follow-up systems. These aren't just events. They're opportunities to connect people to the hope of Jesus in a season when they're already searching for it.
If something in this note landed, don't just save it. Build around it.
And if you don't have the bandwidth or time to do these things yourself, we're here.
📍 Let's move your vision forward → forwardcrtv.com/inquiry
