When you have to do a Christmas Production
I have a kidmin secret and it’s bigger than I hate crafts. I hate productions. Rather, I hate leading them. I’m fine if someone else does them. I created lifelong memories performing in my own productions all the way through college. But I’m not musical. I’ve sung in the choir, and I learned to play the guitar, poorly, a few years back. But being around music and leading music are two completely different things. Rhythm is a challenge, and I have no idea the difference between a middle C and a G sharp.
However, even with this deficiency and being very vocal about it with my leaders and parents, I still got asked (more like told) to do it. So, if you’re like me, or just struggling to put something together for Christmas, here are some ways to survive the season.
1. Why they ask
Before we dive into the doing. I think it’s important to talk about why we do these in the first place. One of the reasons I moved away from productions is all the time they take. The last Christmas production I participated in required me to be at church 5 nights a week. I had a great time, but I had to cut out all my outside activities because I had practice.
However, some pastors and parents love them and want you to do them. Over the years I have discovered that productions do have some good features.
They allow people to serve in their gifts and passions that may not be used elsewhere.
Everyone builds lifelong memories during practice and performances.
Parents love to see their little ones on stage.
Families will come to see their grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins perform.
In some cases people get saved.
I’ve seen these benefits. They’re what I tell myself as I walk into another practice singing Silent Night knowing I’m going to have to explain what “’round yon virgin” means to a third grader.
If you have to do it, there are two ways to make it happen. I’ll talk about each in turn.
2. Recruit someone else
After a few years, I realized that I don’t have to be the one leading these productions. As I said before, my ministry used to be the David Reneau Show, and I’ve since been delivered.
I started looking for people who could lead these and be passionate about it. I told my leaders and parents that if someone wants to step up and make it happen, I’ll give them all the support and resources they need.
And I followed through on that promise.
At several churches I served, I had a parent step up to lead. We worked together to develop a practice schedule, find an appropriate program, and market the event. I brought my strengths to the table while they shored up my weaknesses. If you want to be a great leader, that’s what you have to do: bring other people who are better at something than you and let them shine.
So even if you have to do a Christmas production, most likely you’re not the person who has to do it. You can find someone else to fill the gap. Then your leaders and parents are happy, and you can focus on what you’re good at.
If you go this route, be sure to celebrate this leader. A lot. People will come to you and tell you that you or the kids did a good job. Point them to the person who actually did all the work. At the end of the production buy them flowers and a gift card. Thank them publicly for their service. They did a lot of work to make this happen. They need to be appreciated for the sacrifices they made to make you and your ministry look good.
3. When you can’t find someone
I listed the songs I’ve used in the past in this post. Since I never wanted to buy a Christmas production and many times I had just a few weeks to put something together, I made up my own.
I picked 4 songs that we sang in kids church over the Christmas season, which are fun, easy to sing, and have the potential for solos. Then we practiced them on Sunday during our worship time and on Wednesdays instead of our regularly scheduled meeting.
Then on production day, we’d perform those 4 songs, which took about 25 minutes. One year, we were just part of the overall Christmas Sunday, so those few songs were enough. Other years, we took over the entire Wednesday night program. On those years, the kids sang their songs and then I preached. I spoke about the importance of discipleship and the crucial role parents play in it. I showed them the tools I use to partner with them for their kids to develop a faith that will last a lifetime. You can see the full sermon on my YouTube channel below.
Overall, it was a successful night, and everyone was happy. But not as much as I was when I didn’t have to do these anymore. My current kids pastor does them, but that’s because she loves them. More power to her.
4. When to start
At the time of this writing, it’s near the end of September. So right now is prime time. If you’re going to do a full production with props and costumes, you may already be late. If you’re doing a stripped-down version like what I did, you may be able to wait until the first week of November. I’ve done that a couple of times. It’s tight, but doable. Ideally, you should be thinking about Christmas in August and begin working in earnest by September.
Practices are the hardest to arrange, and you have less time than you think. I’ve tried Sunday morning during service, between different services, Sunday and Wednesday nights. It’s different for just about every church, but I’ve found Wednesday night to be the best. It’s generally lower stakes than Sunday, so it’s easier to change the rhythm. Also, because it’s on a different night, you’ll get the most dedicated kids. You don’t want to force it on every kid. Then you’ll get super excited ones (which you want) and others who will just stand and stare. Or worse, sit and stare.
Even if your production is a disaster, many parents will still love it, because their little one is on stage doing a literal song and dance. Personally, I enjoy watching the preschoolers because of the sheer chaos on stage. Bottom line, even if you didn’t want to do it, people visited your church, your kids learned about Jesus through song, and maybe someone got saved. And that can make all the time and hard work worth it.
I have a kidmin secret and it’s bigger than I hate crafts (link). I hate productions. Rather, I hate leading them. Even with this deficiency and being very vocal about it with my leaders and parents, I still got asked (more like told) to do it.