3 Questions to Ask as You Plan Your Christmas Online Experience

Christmas will be here soon, so it’s time to start planning your online Christmas services. 

As you plan out your experience, we recommend asking yourself three questions. 

From your pre-service playlist to your closing call to action, these three questions will help you create a service that engages your community and changes lives.

1. What would I actually enjoy watching?

When planning a Christmas service for an online audience, it’s important to think about it from a viewer’s perspective. What would you enjoy watching? What would keep you engaged?

Many online attenders are accustomed to the seamless production of popular broadcast shows like Good Morning America or College Game Day. We can learn from these shows by including visual elements like a countdown timer, interactive chat prompts, and recordings from different locations. 

When you create elements specifically for your online attenders, you help them feel like they’re part of the service rather than just passive observers.

2. What is our one primary call to action?

One hard lesson we’ve learned here at Life.Church is that when we give people too many options, they end up choosing nothing.

So instead of offering multiple next steps during your Christmas service, choose one clear, memorable action. Whether it’s encouraging attenders to join a group, give their life to Christ, or simply return next week, having a single invitation makes it easy for people to take their next step.

For Christmas, it may make sense to focus on something that encourages connection. For example, an invitation to join a special Christmas follow-up event or an online small group can help new attenders get connected.

But what about giving?

Keep the giving moment straightforward and simple. During Christmas, a simple mention with nothing extra often resonates best.

3. How are we building relationships that get people excited to come back?

At its core, church is about building relationships, not just delivering content. It can be easy to lose sight of this online, but every moment in your Christmas service is a chance to connect relationally.

Consider how you might bring a personal touch to the online experience that helps people feel seen and valued. For example, Life.Church Online emphasizes engagement through chat prompts like, “What’s your favorite holiday tradition?” or “Share a favorite Christmas memory.”

Think about connecting your in-person announcements to the online experience. This hybrid approach helps online attenders feel valued and connected to the larger church community.

Planning your Christmas online experience around these three questions can transform your service from a broadcast to a meaningful moment. Whether it’s through engaging visuals, a single call-to-action, or intentional moments to build relationships, asking these questions will help you create the Christmas service your online attenders need.

Take Your Church Online Today

Here at Life.Church, we found that if you want to build a thriving online community, you need a platform specifically designed to help you engage and connect with your online attenders. 

We believe the best place for this is the Church Online Platform.

The Church Online Platform is specifically designed to help you build deeper relationships as you meet people where they are digitally. Learn more about the platform and schedule your services for free today.

Looking for more resources to help you plan your online service?

Our Christmas Online Playbook will help you build a digital strategy for your church—deciding things like which platforms to use, how to invite attenders to your online experience, and much more.