Study: Pastors Planning Christmas Day Services

While nine in 10 pastors plan for their churches to host Christmas Day services this year, there may be plenty of space in the pews for those who actually attend.

A recent LifeWay Research study of 1,000 Protestant pastors shows that 91 percent plan to have services on Christmas Day while 69 percent said they plan to host Christmas Eve services.

“Having church on Christmas Day when it falls on a Sunday seems as if it would be as much of a given as having Thanksgiving on a Thursday, but this has been an issue of discussion and contention in recent years,” says Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. “Also, just because an overwhelming majority of pastors think that way doesn’t mean those in their congregations necessarily share their perspective.”

According to a December 2010 LifeWay Research report, 74 percent of Americans agree (strongly or somewhat) that “Christmas is primarily a day for religious celebration and observance,” yet 67 percent of all Americans also agree that, “Many of the things I enjoy during the Christmas season have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.”

“Churches see these conflicting values and we wanted to know how many churches plan to conduct services on each day