Christmas Eve Services in Houston, Texas

Since weeks before Thanksgiving, churches all throughout the Houston area have been preparing for their Christmas Eve services, deciding on just the right liturgy, songs, and mood to capture the Christmas spirit for their paritioners. With hundreds of churches throughout the Houston area, churches compete for the largest and most powerful service, and the traditional Christmas atmosphere is lost completely as churches advertise their services and promote good cheer to the public. Enormous nativity scenes adorn church yards everywhere you look, and holiday wreaths hang from every door.

Houston is comprised mostly of Southern Baptist churches and large non-denominational churches, with several Methodist, Lutheran, and Episcopalean churches interspersed. Christmas is the most important holiday in Katy, and individuals, companies, and churches go all-out to prepare for the Christmas season. Christmas Eve sermons are always powerful, and candlelight services begin at eleven o’clock for late-going paritioners to enjoy.

The largest by far is Second Baptist, which is the “west campus” for the even larger campus in Houston. Pastor Ed Young is one of the most renowned ministers in the Houston area, and he is known to deliver one of the most powerful Christmas Eve services ever experienced. This year, the service will be held at Houston’s Toyota Center, and will feature speacial appearances by Clay Walker and Yolanda Adams. The full Second Baptist Choir will be present, as will the Children’s JUMP team, who will be performing a special skit.

For directions to the Toyota Center or for more information about this service, you can visit www.second.org.

The second largest competitor for Christmas Eve Stardom is Houston’s Lakewood Church, run by second-generation Pastor Joel Osteen, who appears on televised services and has just published a book. On December 8th, Lakewood Church will be hosting the Houston Symphony and Orchestra for a special Christmas Celebration. Lakewood Church has just moved into the Compaq Center – the former home of the Houston Rockets – to house their overwhelming congregation of 16,000. Lakewood has the largest congregation in the nation, and is still growing.

Another large congregation in the Houston area belongs to First Presbyterian, which is located at 5300 Main in the heart of downtown. First Presbyterian is a growing congregation of more than 3,000, and is home to scores of mission and services projects designed to help the community. Their Christmas Eve service is comprised of Children’s Services in the afternoon, including a ‘Happy Birthday, Jesus’ party at 4:30. Their late service, which begins at 11:00, is a reverent candlelight service featuring the sermon, “The Traditional Festival of Lessons,” and is telecast on KHOU 11. Their earlier services, at 3:00. 4:30, and 6:00 are dedicated to and run by children, and are called, “The Bethlehem Story, A New Christmas Eve Tradition”.

Christmas Eve in Houston is one of the largest events of the year, and this is certainly a beautiful place to be. We don’t have snow and we aren’t very cold, but we know how to celebrate the Christmas season, and we love to share it with anyone who will come.

Whether you would like to see Clay Walker and Yolanda Adams or a more traditional candlelight service, we can cater to anyone.