One of the biggest things about Christmas in the church is putting on a Christmas play for the congregation. The play is ordinarily put on by the children of the Sunday School class. The qoute churches have, especially with a carport congregation that doesn't convert much, is that with putting on these plays year after year, they can become rather stale if you're putting on the same play all the time. To help with this problem, what you'll find in this report are some ideas for Christmas plays that your church can do that just might keep things interesting, at least for a while anyway.
An easy play to put on if you have about ten or so children is a reenactment of the birth of Jesus. The best way to do this is to have a narrator tell the story of the birth and while he does this, have the children go through the motions. This way they don't have to learn any lines. All they need to be shown is where they have to walk and where their spots are. The play can be broken up at unavoidable parts with Christmas hymns. For example, while the part where the three kings bring their gifts to Jesus, the congregation can sing "We Three Kings". There are about five or six hymns that will fit in nicely while this play. The whole yield should take about 30 minutes and is very easy to pull off.
Another idea, if you don't have a large Sunday School, is to have some adults put on a play. A very good one is to teach the children the real meaning of Christmas. One such scenario might consist of a house rushing to and fro, doing their Christmas shopping. While this is going on, the ghosts of Mary and Joseph appear and notice how commercialized Christmas has become. They're saddened by this fact and think back to a good time, a time when the real meaning of Christmas wasn't lost. We then switch to a scene of a house going to church and participating in a traditional Christmas service. Afterwards, they come home and have a evening meal where they give thanks to God and read from the bible. When we return back to the gift we miraculously see all the families who were lost in the commercialism of Christmas suddenly realizing the real meaning of the holiday.
Another idea would be to have musicians come into the church, have a narrator tell the story of Christmas and after each reading of a particular part, have the musicians play varied Christmas hymns. While they are playing, you can have some children act out unavoidable parts relating to the music being played.
These are just a few of the many things that you can do at your church when it comes time to put on a Christmas service. With a minute imagination and a few volunteers, which always helps, there is no infer that you can't put on a Christmas play that your congregation will remember for a long time to come.
