Originally posted 9/2/2008
The old joke says “How do you eat an elephant?” Of course, the answer is one bite at a time. For children’s pastors, that’s much the same way to plan a Christmas program. Christmas programs are massive undertakings that are better digested one bite at a time.
The first thing you should do is divide the program up in sections. Find workers to take on each of these sections. You don’t have to use people who normally work in children’s ministry. For instance, the person in charge of costumes doesn’t have to be called to minister to children, but she does have to know how to sew. Find somebody who can take care of each area.
These are some of the areas you might divide your Christmas program into:
Choir Director: The choir director teaches the children the songs. You might contact your music director for an idea of who to use.
Drama Director: The drama director is in charge of teaching the children the speaking parts.
Media Technician: Don’t wait until the last minute to find someone to do the sound, power point, sound effects, and lighting. Have someone from the sound and media department of your church be in charge of this.
Costumes: Choose someone to make, buy, or design costumes for your play. Make sure this person knows exactly what you’re looking for.
Set Design: Look for a creative person who knows how to draw. This person will be in charge of the set design and decorations.
Props: Find a person whose only job is to find the props needed for the play and have them ready for rehearsals and performances. This will take a big load off of you.
Party: If you have a dress rehearsal party or cast party, assign someone else to make the plans and provide the refreshments.
Backstage Director: This person will be in charge of finding people to help the children in their costumes, get them where they need to be when they need to be there, feeding lines to children from the side stage, and keeping the children occupied while they are waiting for the program to begin. You could have more than one person in charge of these different areas.
Stage Director: The stage director is in charge of deciding where the children will stand while they’re doing their parts, where the choir will stand, and where and when everyone will come in. This person will also work with the media director to make sure the children have the right microphones at the right time.
For a Christmas program succeed, it needs to be a team effort.
Friday, I’ll post about how to have a great dress rehearsal and cast party. Next week, I’ll post about how to be an effective children’s choir director and drama director.
