Smart Pastor

We have all seen it and probably done it. The Christmas pageant that looks something like this….

The same costumes are used year after year and an amount of familiarity is part of the experience. It probably takes about 100 bucks to put it on. That is not as much as these churches.

In an age of mega churches that thrive on congregations that sometimes number 20,000 or more, elaborate Christmas productions that can cost $1million have become a valuable marketing tool. Gone are the days of angel costumes made of white sheets and tin-foil halos. With the proliferation of megachurches, holiday pageants have gone Hollywood.

The Cirque du Soleil-style production at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington features live “angels” swinging from the ceiling like acrobats, a professional violist and a mist-filled stage. The “Imagine Christmas” program is expected to draw 95,000 people this year and is broadcast on a local television station on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The $1.3 million Christmas pageant at First Baptist Church of Ft. Lauderdale, featuring pyrotechnic displays that light up the stage, is choreographed by professional Broadway producers. (From the Chicago Tribune)

One one hand there is the whole you could have spent all that money on something else argument, but I personally find that to be a shallow argument as you could say that about every dollar a church spends. Plus, given the large budgets of many of these churches that percentage of the budget may not be all that different than what a “regular” church spends.

More than the economics of these productions, I wonder about their effectiveness. Do these make much of an impact any more. Do we have anything other than anecdotal evidence one way or the other?

What are your thoughts?

Thank you to CrossChronicles for the link.