Four Special Evenings
Your Congregation Will Talk About for Years
A complete Advent family event planning guide
built for pastors and kids min directors — free to download, free to use.
What is the MARK! Advent Family Event Planning Guide?
The MARK! The Herald Angel Advent Family Event Planning Guide is a free, complete resource for pastors and kids min directors who want to give their congregation four meaningful, memorable family evenings during the Advent season.
Each evening is built around one of the four traditional Advent themes — Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love — and designed to work for every age in the room simultaneously. A five-year-old and a seventy-five-year-old will both leave with something that stays with them.
The guide pairs naturally with the free MARK! 12-Day Advent Devotional and the Christmas novelette MARK! The Herald Angel — but each evening stands on its own and can be used with or without the book.
What's included for each of the four evenings:
A complete minute-by-minute schedule, a themed family activity, a keepsake element families take home, a Scripture reading and candle lighting ceremony, a supply list, and a Pastor Tip for the one element that matters most that night.
The four evenings at a glance:
-
Night 1 — HOPE: A candlelit gathering where families create a congregation-wide Hope Map. No overhead lights. Just candles, warm cider, and the first Advent candle lit together.
-
Night 2 — PEACE: Families craft the #MarksGift ornament together — a small gold ring with a purple ribbon, inspired by the most moving moment in MARK! The Herald Angel. Every family takes one home to hang on their Christmas tree, beginning a tradition they'll repeat for years.
-
Night 3 — JOY: Cookie baking, caroling into the surrounding neighborhood, and giving plates of homemade cookies to neighbors, homebound members, and local community locations. Joy that doesn't stay inside.
-
Night 4 — LOVE: The culmination. The full book read aloud to the gathered congregation. A family gift-giving project for families in need. The final Advent candle lit. And "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" sung together — all four verses — by a congregation that now knows exactly what every word means.
Who is this guide for?
This Advent family event planning guide is designed for pastors planning their Advent series, kids min directors building family programming for December, small group leaders looking for a four-week community Advent experience, and church event coordinators who want something meaningful, manageable, and ready to run.
It is free to download, free to print, and free to use for your entire church community. No purchase required. No licensing fee. A fair dinkum gift from Glenn Fletcher to your congregation.
Download Free — No Purchase Necessary
