Create Landmark Moments

Can I tell you something? Most of the folks in your town are never going to read your church's mission statement. But they will remember the night their kids rode a train under a sky full of Christmas lights. They'll remember the summer their little one came home from VBS talking nonstop about a castle. That's a landmark moment.

Churches should create a few moments each year that are so generous, joyful, and memorable that the whole community knows about them. Go bigger than expected. Make it beautiful. Make it fun. And use the opportunity to point people toward Jesus.

Why call it a landmark?

Anybody ever tried to give directions in a small town? Nobody uses street numbers. It's "go on past the old store and turn left at the church." A landmark is something people steer by.

A landmark moment works the same way. It becomes a marker on the community's calendar. People plan around it. They tell their cousins about it. And over time, the church becomes known as the place where good things happen for everybody, not just for the people who already sit in the pews.

Notice I said a few. A handful of things done with your whole heart will do more than a crowded calendar nobody remembers.

Christmas on Court Street

Here's what that has looked like for us. What began with around 200 people has grown into a community Christmas celebration attended by thousands, with a Walk to Bethlehem, live animals, a train, miles of Christmas lights, music, cloggers, face painting, food, and more than 1,500 hot dogs given away.

That's a whole lot of hot dogs, y'all.

But hear me on this: the point was never simply to put on an event. What we want is to help our community celebrate Christmas, and to intentionally put Jesus at the center of it. The lights and the music and the train are wonderful, and they are also an open door. Plenty of families who wouldn't think to walk into a Sunday morning service will gladly come out for Christmas.

And isn't that the Christmas story anyway? Listen to what the angel said to the shepherds:

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10–11)

Good news of great joy for all the people. Not some of the people. All of them! A community Christmas celebration is just the church saying that out loud, with the lights on.

Vacation Bible School

Our second landmark is VBS. The philosophy is simple: go far beyond ordinary decoration and programming. Giant castles. Water wheels. Animals. Immersive environments. Whatever it takes to create wonder for children.

Why go to all that trouble? Because kids can tell when you mean it. A folding table and a poster board say, "We had to do this." A castle says, "We were expecting you." And wonder opens a door.

VBS regularly ministers to 200+ children, and it culminates in a packed parent night where families are welcomed and the gospel is clearly presented. So the castle isn't the point. The castle is the doorway. Jesus is the point.

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:14)

I don't ever want boring to be the thing that hinders a child.

Go bigger than expected

Now you might be thinking, "John, that's a lot of money and a lot of work." You're right. It is.

But generosity says something. When a church goes bigger than anybody expected, the community learns something about the God we serve. He isn't stingy. He didn't save us with the bare minimum. He gave his Son. When we throw the doors open and do it with joy and with excellence, we're reflecting a little bit of that grace.

There's a guardrail, though. A landmark moment is not about the church looking impressive. Jesus said:

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

The glory goes to the Father, not to us. If folks leave saying, "Man, that church sure can put on a show," we missed it. If they leave having heard about Jesus, and thinking, "Those people really love this town," now we're getting somewhere.

Point people toward Jesus

So here are a few principles if you're fixing to build a landmark moment in your community:

• Decide where Jesus shows up before you decide anything else. Don't tack the gospel on at the end. Build the whole thing around it.
• Make it beautiful and make it fun. Joy is not a distraction from the gospel. It's good news, after all.
• Give it time to grow. Remember, Christmas on Court Street began with around 200 people.

If your church could do one thing this year that the whole town would talk about, what would it be? Dream a little. Then go bigger than that. And when the lights come down, make sure everybody knows whose birthday it was.