Good News, Great Joy!
Notes to the Elementary Service Director
Several weeks before your first whole-group practice takes place, you can begin working with individuals and classes or groups. The whole-group practices will go much easier when most of the kids have some idea of what you expect of them. Here are some ideas that will help jumpstart your planning:
- Invite and advertise! Be sure to use the free downloadable items CTA provides. You can customize them with your own information and create a unified look and feel for the entire enterprise from invitation to closing blessing.Visit to check them out. They include a coloring page, the full-color artwork for the theme Good News, Great Joy, a PowerPoint presentation to match the special Christmas book (Item #GNJ3SCTS), and more!
- Invite older children to use their talents. Have them read, sing, play an instrument, introduce songs, and participate in other helpful ways.
- If you have a smaller group of children, use adults for some speaking parts.
- Before you print out copies of the service below for each participant, assign speaking parts, and replace Leader and Speaker with the names of the children or adults who will speak those parts.
- Plan a way to set the stage. Put a manger in the center rear of the stage, allowing enough space for Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, and other characters to stand near it. Plan to position the tallest children in back rows and smallest children in front—perhaps on low risers or steps. Children may sit down in place whenever they are not involved in singing or presenting. This will eliminate the confusion of moving from chairs to the stage and then back again several times.
- Feel free to include more or different songs or hymns. If you would like to find the melodies for those we have included or find substitutes for them, check an online hymn site like
Because it is difficult for very young children to sit longer than about 15 minutes, you may want to plan in such a way that the youngest children do their part first. Then you can dismiss them to sit with their parents in the audience.
- Select children to act out the story as Luke 2 is read. You will need these characters: Mary, Joseph, baby (doll) in a manger, angels, shepherds, and Wise Men. The following are some costume ideas to get you started:
- Here’s an easy way to make a “robe.” Use a bath towel, a portion of an old sheet, or a length of lightweight, inexpensive fabric. Fold it in half. Use scissors to cut an X about midway along the fold. Adjust the X until it slips easily over the child’s head, tie a belt around the child’s waist, check that the bottom edge is at least 12 inches off the floor to minimize the danger of tripping, and you’re done!
- Fashion “sheep ears” or “cow horns” by hot-gluing felt ear or horn shapes to headbands purchased from a discount store. Or sew felt “ears” to a length of black elastic, sized and sewn to fit snugly around the child’s head. (Elastic may be purchased by the yard at your local fabric store.) Students playing animal parts may wear sweatshirts and pants in solid colors. Plain mittens or gloves can serve as hooves. Use face paint to add “noses” for the “animals”—but only if the children are comfortable with it and parents give you permission.
- Use gold or silver spray paint to make gifts for Wise Men to carry. Plastic bottles or small shoeboxes work well. Fashion simple crowns from strips of paper and let each child decorate his or her own crown with crayons or markers. Or purchase CTA’s I’m a King’s Kid crown party hats (Item #KKD2CT) for the Wise Men to wear.
- Spray paint a silver or gold star. Fasten one end of a string to the star. Attach the other end of the string to a wooden dowel approximately three feet in length.
- Angel “halos” may be made from silver, gold, or white Christmas garland. Place a short length of garland on each angel’s head. Cut it to size and staple the ends securely. (Keep the stapler close by for last-minute fixes.)
- Optional child part:Select one or more children to dress up as old-fashioned paperboys. Just before each headline is posted, a child can run across the stage shouting, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”
- Adapt this service as appropriate for your group’s size, setting, and preferences.
- Note that most of the Bible quotations here come from the English Standard Version (ESV). You’re welcome to substitute a translation of your choice, but if you do this, you will need to change the credit line in both the leader copy and at the end of the participants’ file. Visit to learn more about Bible credit lines.
- Feel free to add other Christmas hymns and songs, but be sure to respect copyright laws and include credit lines.
- If you need a shorter service or if your group is smaller, consider judiciously omitting some hymn stanzas and speaking parts.
- Prepare an order of service for the congregation/audience. CTA provides a free program cover with theme art you can download and customize. Check it out at
- As the service ends, give each child a copy of the book Good News, Great Joy! (Item #GNJ3SCTS)to read at home and to keep as a memento of Christmas this year.
Prepare
In the weeks leading up to the service, prepare posters with each headline on a large sheet of paper.Or project the headlinesonto a large screen in the front of the room or off to the side.
If you choose to have the congregation participate in the service where it indicates they can, add those sections to the bulletin and/or project them on the screen when it is time for them to say their parts.
Assign the speaking parts in any way you wish. If you are working with a small group of children, each speaker will have multiple parts. If yours is a large group, you may break some of the speaking parts into shorter sections or have several children speak each part in unison.
Practice the parts thoroughly with the children in small groups before bringing the whole ensemble together to rehearse. You may want to send speaking parts and songs home in writing, so children can practice them with their families. It is best if children memorize their speaking parts, but they may also read from cards onto which you have printed their parts. If you do this, encourage the speakers to face the audience and speak slowly and clearly as they read into the microphone. (You might also have an extra set of cards available in case a child loses his or her card in the excitement of the big event.)
Teach the children the words of the traditional Christmas carols suggested in the text below (especially “Away in a Manger” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain”). If you don’t have time to teach everything, be sure everyone learns the refrain and first stanza for each song.
Because photography can disrupt worship and movement in the audience may distract the children, offer an alternative for parents and grandparents. Tell them that all adults will have an opportunity to take pictures of their children near the classroom Christmas tree or at the manger after the service. Then ask that they refrain from taking photos during the program itself.
Good News, Great Joy!
A Christmas Service for Elementary School Children
Opening Song
Song: Good Christians, Now Rejoice(sung by the children and congregation)
- Good Christians, now rejoice with heart and soul and voice;
Give ye heed to what we say: Jesus Christ is born today;
Ox and lamb before him bow; and he is in the manger now.
Christ is born today! Christ is born today!
- Good Christians, now rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
This is news of endless bliss: Jesus Christ was born for this!
He has opened the heavenly door, and we are blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!
- Good Christians, now rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now we need not fear the grave: Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one and calls you all, to gain his everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!
Psalm 100
A child or group of children may memorize the psalm and recite it or an adult may read it from the Bible or below.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, prepare our hearts to worship you.As we celebrate together the coming of your Son, help us realize more deeply the love you have shown to us.Use the good news of Christmas to work true joy in our hearts!Amen.
Extra!Extra!Read All About It!
Headline:It Was Good!
Small group of children:
Have you heard the good news,
Good news that is true?
God made this whole world
For me and for you!
All Children:“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”(Genesis 1:1).
Speaker 2:On the first day, God made light.
All Children:It was good!
Speaker 3:On the second day,God separated the waters and created the sky.
All Children:It was good!
Speaker 4:On the third day, God made the oceans and the land.He made trees and flowers and everything that grows.
All Children:It was good!
Speaker 5:On the fourth day,God created the sun, the moon, and the stars.
All Children:It was good!
Speaker 6:On the fifthday,God filled the oceans with fish and the air with birds.
All Children:It was good!
Speaker 7:On the sixth day, God created all the other animals.Thenhe made Adam and Eve.
Speaker 8:God saw all that he had made.
All Children:It wasvery good!
Speaker 9:On the seventh day, God rested.
Speaker 10:What joy Adam and Eve must have felt in the Garden of Eden!They got to walk and talk with God every day. Everything was perfect.They were never sad, never sick, never in pain.They knew pure joy every moment.
All Children:Then one day everything changed!
Extra!Extra!Read All About It!
Headline:Sin Came In
Small group of children:
Have you heard the sad news,
Sad news that is true?
Sin entered the world:
It’s in me and in you.
Speaker 11:God had filled the garden with plants and trees and many good things to eat.God gave Adam and Eve the good news that they could eat from any tree they wanted—except for one.They were not allowed to eat from that one. By obeying this command, they could show their love for God, who had given them so many, many good things.
Speaker 12:But one day, Adam and Eve ate from that forbidden tree.Immediately, they knew they had done wrong. Their sin made them afraid. They hid from God.
Speaker 13:In love, God came to find them. He gave Adam and Evesome very, very sad news. They would have to leave the garden.Their lives would never be the same again.
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Headline:The Promise
Small group of children:
Have you heard the good news,
Good news that is true?
God gave his sure promise:
Salvation for you!
Speaker 14:The sad news wasn’t the only news. God still loved Adam and Eve very much. Even though they had sinned, God gave them a promise. That promise was good news for Adam and Eve—and for us, too!
Speaker 15:Just like Adam and Eve, wehave sinned.The Bible says:
All Children:“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”(Romans 3:23).
Speaker 15:God still loves us, in spite of our sin. He promised to send us a Savior:
All Children:“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”(John 3:16).
Speaker 16:For years and years and years and years and years, God’s people waited and hoped for that Savior to come. Through sad days and glad days, in peace and in war, in good times and in bad, they longed for God to keep his promise.
Song: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (sung by congregation and children)
1. O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.
2.O come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Headline:A Baby Is Coming!
Small group of children or individual speaker:
Have you heard the good news,
Good news that is true?
God kept his great promise—
Salvation for you!
(Mary and Joseph enter the rear of the auditorium and walk slowly toward the stage as the lines below are spoken.)
Speaker 17:Mary and Joseph were not expecting thegood news that came to them.
Speaker 18:The angel Gabriel told each of them that Mary would have a baby.This baby would be God’s own Son, the Savior he had promised.
Speaker 19:At first Mary was confused and wondered how this could be possible. The angel assured her:
All Children:“Nothing will be impossible with God”(Luke 1:37).
Speaker 20:Mary rejoiced and praised God saying:
Mary:“He who is mighty has done great things for me,and holy is his name”(Luke 1:49).
Speaker 21:Joseph was worried andwondered what to do.The angel told him not to be afraid. The angel said to Joseph:
All Children:“You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Headline:Jesus Is Born!
Small group of children:
Have you heard the good news,
Good news that is true?
Christ Jesus is born
For me and for you!
The Christmas Story
Read Luke 2:1–7. An adult or older child may do this. You may alsodivide the passage up into several speaking parts and have individuals or small groups of children read or recite it. As the words are spoken, have a small group of children act it out silently.
Song: Away in a Manger(sung by the children)
- Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
- The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
I love you, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
- Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask you to stay
Close by me forever and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven to live with you there.
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Headline:Shepherds Hear Good News
Small group of children:
Have you heard the good news,
Good news that is true?
When the shepherds were told,
They knew what to do.
The Christmas Story (continued)
Continue as before, this time reading Luke 2:8–20. An adult or older child may read. You may also divide the passage up into several speaking parts and have individuals or small groups of children read or recite it. As the words are spoken, have a small group of children act it out silently.As verse 16 is read, have a group of younger children dressed as shepherds come forward to kneel around the manger.
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Headline:Everyone Must Hear
All Children:
Have you heard the good news,