What's your Christmas campaign?

Question: What costs £7million, is filmed in July and merits a specially created smartphone app, storybook and (overpriced) range of soft toys?

Answer: The John Lewis Christmas Advert.

With their cute penguins, heart-warming children and genuinely emotive storylines, there's a lot to be enjoyed about the department store’s seasonal marketing campaign launched every November. To some it might seem all rather overblown, but the time and expense it requires to create is clearly worth it. Christmas represents a huge opportunity for the company, with a whopping £777million of sales over the Christmas period. And while this year’s ad will remain shrouded in secrecy until its release, no doubt there is an army of creative and marketing professionals working on it right now.

A bigger opportunity

We know that Christmas is an even greater opportunity for our churches: perhaps the biggest opportunity we have to tell people in our communities about the God who stepped into human history to bring peace on earth.

Even in the face of continued secularisation, carol services continue to have an enduring appeal—and that’s not to mention school assemblies, community fairs and other special events and parties where we might be a gospel witness. The opportunities are many—so we need to think carefully about how to make the most of them.

While no one’s expecting a smart phone app or tie-in soft-toy range for your Christmas outreach, it is good to ask the question: What could we do that is fresh or different so that more people hear the good news than did last year?

What could we do that is fresh or different so that more people hear the good news than did last year?

What could you do to further publicise your Christmas services? Perhaps it’s something as simple as putting up posters in shop windows, invites through doors, or an advert in your local newspaper. Perhaps you could pay for some social media advertising targeted to your local area. Or you could arrange an interview on local radio, carol singing or handing out flyers at the supermarket. Or maybe it’s a new emphasis on giving personal invitations to friends and neighbours that’s most needed.

Christmas is also a great time to get gospel material into the hands of non-Christians. Who could you—or your congregation—reach out to with books and tracts that explain what Christmas is really about?

It does matter what it looks like

The gospel message is ancient yet timeless—but it’s never old-fashioned. So our church publicity shouldn’t look dated either. We can glorify God by presenting the good news in a way that looks attractive—and so do justice to a gospel message that is truly beautiful.

Invites that look genuinely inviting can go some way to challenging preconceptions about boring church services in draughty buildings. They give a reassuring indication of the type of people newcomers are likely to meet if they dare to cross the church threshold. And good publicity inspires confidence in church members who are nervous about giving out invitations.

If this sounds beyond your capabilities, it needn’t be. At The Good Book Company we’ve been helping to resource churches with attractive publicity materials for years—including our increasingly popular Christmas card printing service, which churches can personalise with their event details.

We also strive to produce books and tracts which look and feel so appealing that the person holding it can’t resist opening it up and starting to read.

And this summer at the TGBC offices we’ve been working on an exciting festive project of our own; an animation to show at carol services and other events, tied in with our latest evangelistic book: A Very Different Christmas by Rico Tice and Nate Morgan Locke. Admittedly, the budget is significantly less than £7million—but watch this space.

Three ways to get the ball rolling

So, perhaps it’s time to get the ball rolling on your Christmas campaign. If you manage to carve time out of the diary now, it will come as a huge relief when December rolls round. Whether you’re a church leader or church member, here are three things to get started with:

1. Delegate

Church leaders: If you’re a church leader, sorting out flyers, posters and tracts doesn’t have be your job. Is there someone in your congregation who you could delegate to?

Church members: Who handles your church’s publicity? Could you offer to help? Perhaps offer to arrange for something new or extra this year, on top of what they usually do. They’ll likely thank you for it!

2. Budget

Church leaders: A beautiful Christmas campaign won’t come free, but it will be money well spent. Budget ahead so that you don’t have to cut corners.

Church members: If money is an issue for your church, is publicity something you could give specifically for? Could you plan to sponsor an advert, or pay for this year’s service invitations, as part of your giving this Christmas?

3. Pray

Church leaders: The further you plan ahead, the further church members can pray ahead for the friends and neighbours they want to invite. Sharing your Christmas plans as they develop will be a massive encouragement in this.

Church members: Get praying! Perhaps think of three specific people you long would hear the good news this Christmas, and then resolve to pray regularly for them.

A well-planned and executed publicity campaign will bring more people under the sound of the gospel this Christmas—a much better place to be, even than John Lewis.

To see how The Good Book Company can help you with your publicity this Christmas, call our friendly customer service team on 0333 123 0880 or go to thegoodbook.co.uk/christmas.

What's your Christmas campaign this year? We'd love to hear all about it. Comment below. You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel