Christmas day for this year will be celebrated on Sunday. This leads to some of the churches asking whether they would hold services for December 25 since most of the people will celebrate Christmas with their families. Most of them, however, were looking into adjusting the services schedules to make up for the celebration of Christmas.
Megachurches, like North Point and Buckhead Tower Point, are well-known to withhold services on a Sunday during the Christmas week to give time to the volunteers in catching up with the family.
"We're 15 years old and we've always done it," said Bill Willits, Director of Ministry Environments of North Point. "Our volunteers are very, very grateful because it's such a busy season."
Willow Creek Community Church also came under fire in 2005 when they decided to just give out DVDs for the people to watch on a Sunday for Christmas season.
"I see this in many ways as a capitulation to narcissism, the self-centered, me-first, I'm going to put me and my immediate family first agenda of the larger culture," said Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, according to New York Times.
"If Christianity is an evangelistic religion, then what kind of message is this sending to the larger culture -- that worship is an optional extra?"
This year, however, Willow Creek decided to conduct several Christmas Eve services and one Christmas Day service. According to Church Executive Pastor Heather Larson, the church will deliver nine services up till Christmas Eve and start the Christmas Day service at 10 a.m.
"This year, on Dec. 25, Teaching Pastor Steve Carter and I will be leading with our families. It will be a great Christmas service for all," he said in an interview with Christian Post. "Our services, dates and times vary as the calendar varies. It's a true celebration of our Lord's birth and that is our focus every year."
Meanwhile, the Virginia megachurch stated that the church will be conducting a Christmas Sunday service unless the weather turns worse.
"We have always held a service on Christmas Sundays unless we are completely snowed out. Many times we will cancel our first two Sunday morning services due to inclement weather and at least try having one service at 11," Pastor Steve Holley said.
Pastor Holley also reiterated the importance of celebrating the time of worship and it is the church's responsibility to encourage the people to observe this holy obligation.
"I also find it difficult to support any claim of inconvenience in worshiping on Christmas Day when there are Christians all over the world suffering persecution who would welcome both the comfort and freedom that churches like ours have in the U.S," he said.
Other Roman Catholic churches in the East that are dominated by a devoted Catholic population see the attendance of a Mass in Christmas as a no-brainer since the whole point of conducting a service of worship is to celebrate the presence of God, especially in Christmas.
