Below you’ll find the show notes for episode 48, Things to Consider When Planning a Women’s Ministry Christmas event, from the Women’s Ministry Toolbox Podcast.
Things to Consider When Planning a Women’s Ministry Christmas Event
These are the two over-arching questions we’ll consider:
- Should you host a Christmas event?
- What’s the purpose of your Christmas event?
Though the answers may seem obvious, I encourage you to stick with me through the end of this post – it’s not as simple as it may seem on the surface.
Let’s start by thinking through whether or not you should host a women’s ministry Christmas event.
Here are some important things to discuss:
1. Is your church calendar already full?
What does your church’s calendar look like in November and December? Maybe your church hosts a large outreach event at Christmas such as a Journey to Bethlehem, a Christmas drama, or a musical. If many of the women in your church and on your team will be volunteering for that event, adding one more item to the church calendar may not be best.
A full church Christmas calendar is not a bad thing – it provides a great opportunity to encourage women to support other ministries. Remember we want to complement and not compete with other church ministries and activities. Don’t forget to take into account small group and Bible study Christmas parties! Those count too!
2. Is your women’s ministry team already stretched?
Do you have the necessary volunteers with availability during a very busy time of year to pull off an event with excellence?
Our women’s ministry team has traditionally hosted a fall retreat in mid-late November. We realized that our team needed some time to rest and refuel before offering another event. It also didn’t make a lot of sense to host another women’s ministry event approximately 2 weeks after the retreat.
3. Would it be better to host a women’s ministry event in November or early January?
A meeting or event in November could cater to the holiday preparations women are already doing.
- Host a workshop on how to make Christmas candies.
- Offer a couple of craft options that would make great gifts.
- Offer a night of worship to help women prepare their hearts and minds to worship Christ’s birth.
- Host an Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing party in early November. (If that interests you check the show notes for this blog post on Hosting a Packing Party.)
January is traditionally a slow church activity month and a great time to gather your women.
- Help them kick off the New Year with some solid Bible study habits. (You could use my READ Bible Study materials to offer a Bible Study Boot Camp.)
- Teach them how to memorize scripture and set up a monthly memory verse challenge for the new year.
- Holidays can be hard and emotional for many of your women. January might be a good time to bring in a biblical counselor to answer questions and share tips.
If you have decided to host a women’s ministry Christmas event, you want to be sure your team agrees on its purpose.
Most women have multiple opportunities for fellowship in December – between their small group, work, family, friends, and church, they likely have multiple invites to holiday parties and activities. Most women aren’t looking for another fellowship event in December.
Maybe your team wants to consider those who may be forgotten or dreading the holiday season.
- Could you offer an event to honor family and friends that have passed away?
- Maybe you want to love church members that are homebound and in nursing homes with care packages.
Can we be honest about gift exchanges for a moment?
How many times have you received a gift at a Christmas exchange that you didn’t need or want?
As we consider being good stewards of time, we also need to be good stewards of finances.
Gift exchanges exclude women who are on a tight budget or they may encourage women to spend money they shouldn’t. Gift exchanges do little to further the gospel. Likewise, a Christmas event that requires purchasing a ticket or paying for a meal can also be a burden on our women.
If we’re going to be honest, a lot of women’s ministry Christmas parties have very little to do with Christ. They are packed with food, games, and gifts. They’re fun, but they tend to be self-serving, rather than serving others. That may not be the case in your women’s ministry, but maybe, just maybe, it’s worth examining.
What can you offer that points women to Christ?
Christmas is a great time for outreach events. (Outreach events are events that reach out to women in our community that don’t have a church home.)
When we invite women to a church event, they expect to experience a little bit of church. Maybe not a Sunday sermon, but they expect to hear about Jesus and why they need Him in their life. If you make Jesus an afterthought – that communicates the place of importance you give Him in your life.
Look at your schedule and find ways to magnify Christ.
Christmas is a great time to have a speaker talk about hope.
A Christmas event with a strong gospel message could make a big impact as hearts and minds are already thinking about Christ’s birth.
Serving others is a great option for a women’s ministry Christmas event.
It gets the focus off ourselves and our eyes on others. Serving is a great way to model that Christmas is about giving and not receiving.
- If your church is collecting gifts for families in need, you could host a wrapping party to wrap and organize the gifts before they are delivered.
- Serve at a local food kitchen.
- Take a meal to your local Ronald McDonald House.
- Sort clothes at a local ministry.
Ask your church staff member over missions what needs there are that your event can meet.
Christmas events can quickly become a sacred cow – an event that has more emotional ties than spiritual ties.
Now’s a great time to discuss with your team IF you should host a Christmas event this year and what its purpose will be.
Today’s Toolbox Tasks:
- Schedule time with your team to discuss IF you should host a Christmas event this year.
- If the answer is yes, decide what the purpose will be and how women will experience Christ.
- Pray and ask God to use your decisions to bless the women in your church and community.
Women’s ministry Christmas events can be wonderful, Christ-centered, and a blessing to all those in attendance, if you host one.
I pray God will guide your decisions and your planning wherever it leads.
You may also want to read:
How to Host an Operation Christmas Child Packing Party
Christmas Resource Review: Love’s Pure Light
10 Tips for Your Christmas Coffee or Fellowship
Ultimate Christmas Game Round-Up
Christmas Gift & Outreach Idea: The Gift of No Dishes (Free Printable)
10 Things I’d Do Differently as a Women’s Ministry Leader During the Christmas Season
Christmas Table Talk Cards (Free Printable)
Comfy & Cozy Inspirational Christmas Gift Ideas & Tags
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