Christmas Ramblings, Attendance Trends, and the Medication Everyone Should Get On in 2026

By Tyler McKenzie

Every. Single. Year. It’s fascinating how our society sprints to Christmas! Ever noticed? Ever participated? At what point are we going to get honest with ourselves and rename fall, “Christmas”? That’s when most of you start decorating! The second after the last trick-or-treater leaves your front porch, it’s “Trees! Wreaths! Lights! Magic! Hallmark!”  

Ever ask yourself why though? Why the rush to Christmas? Is this time of year really that great? We spend painful amounts of money this time of year. I’m writing this on “Cyber Monday” after “Black Friday.” Also, I look really pale in the obligatory Christmas photoshoot. Also, December 21^st will be the coldest darkest day of 2025. Explain again why we are all so excited? 

In my observations, there are two reasons why people rush to Christmas. First, we do it because retailers want us to. That’s right! Corporate America is incentivized by greed to magnify this season as large and long as possible. We rush to Christmas because Amazon and algorithmic ads tell us to.  

Second, and more to my point, I believe we throw ourselves into Christmas because we are grasping for something we don’t have. We are grasping for joy to the world, grasping for peace on earth, grasping for a thrill of hope! We could do all the Christmas things any time of the year, but it’s just not the same. There’s something special about decorating inside when it’s gray and dreary outside. There’s something special about hanging lights in the darkness. There’s something special about personal gift-giving that counteracts cultural greed. There’s something special about family gatherings that heal life’s loneliness.  

My theory? These Christmas traditions are cherished because they point beyond themselves to something real … the realest, deepest source of joy there is. Ain’t nothing magical about hanging socks on your wall. That’s kind of weird! Ain’t nothing magical about candy canes! It’s an inferior candy. Ain’t nothing magical about wearing red and green. Unless you are under the age of ten, these colors are not your colors. Jesus was probably born in September, so if we are putting redemptive pressure on this month to save us, it’s not going to live up to it. The only thing that makes December truly magical is if what we believe about Jesus is true. 

One of the interesting things about Christmas at my church is that there is an upswing in Sunday attendance. Based on conversations with other church leaders, I’ve found this to be true for many. Once everyone gets back from Thanksgiving travels, in-person attendance soars up-and-to-the-right, peaking at our Christmas Eve services. Then after Christmas break, it soars again in January, only to eventually level out. 

While we have everyone’s attention on these December Sundays, I’ve been inviting them to consider how they might carry the joy of Jesus out of December and into 2026. There is actually a ground-breaking, never-before-tried idea I read about last week. It is said that this idea could ignite both mental and physical wellness in the new year like few other things. It’s called “Keep coming to church.” Ever heard of it? 

Rebecca McLaughlin has a PhD from Cambridge. She just released a book called How Church Could (Literally) Save Your Life. In it, she makes a data-based argument that one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health is to do this thing called “Go to church on Sunday.” She writes:  

Imagine someone hands you a box of pills. You open it and 52 tablets meet your eyes. You read the printed information and it claims this medication—if taken weekly—could elongate your life by seven years, significantly increase your chance of happiness, and substantially reduce the likelihood you’ll suffer from depression. Thinking this is too good to be true, you check the side effects. They’re listed as a greater sense of meaning, greater likelihood of volunteering, and more generosity toward those in need. Once again, you’re skeptical. This must be a scam. You turn to the back of the box to see where this information comes from. There you find this medication has been extensively tested by none other than the Harvard School of Public Health. Would you take the pills? 

I would! In fact, I am! Every Sunday, I crawl out of bed, I put on my best preaching jeans and a worship hoodie, and I show up at Northeast Christian Church to take my medicine. I’ve come to learn that weekly worship works! And just to clarify … “online church” is not a comparable replacement.  

Tyler VanderWelle is the Director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It’s his research that McLaughlin builds her arguments on. Summarizing Harvard’s findings, Christianity Today reported: 

Unlike researchers on this topic from decades past, who primarily produced underpowered cross-sectional studies, VanderWeele and his contemporaries have conducted robust longitudinal studies with cohorts numbering in the tens of thousands. The findings are striking. Church attendance reduces all-cause mortality by nearly 30 percent over a 15-year period and protects woman against suicide by 400 percent. Weekly churchgoing in women over 40 is as protective against death as annual mammograms, McLaughlin writes. Those attending services more than weekly at age 20 have “a roughly seven-year greater life expectancy than their nonchurchgoing peers.” Churchgoing protects against alcohol, smoking, and drug abuse and decreases the odds of depression by one-third. 

OMG! So, if you are spiritually curious … if you are existentially numb and looking for a spark … if you are overwhelmed and searching for relief … if you are perpetually sad … if you are a wanderer who wonders where joy can be found in such a crazy world … or maybe you are just someone who likes living and wants to do it as long as possible … Consider this idea your Christmas star in the sky! The wisdom of the world is pointing us …to church.  

What will we do with this data? I hope we don’t pack it away with the rest of the traditions come January.  

Tyler McKenzie serves as lead pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He also produces a fun Bible podcast for parents and their kids called “the Preacher and the Piano man”.