Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in Livermore, CA (2026)

Some people call Christmas the most wonderful time of the year. I also know it can be one of the hardest. Maybe this is your first Christmas after a loss. Maybe money is tight, or your family is carrying more stress than joy right now.

Whatever this season looks like for you, I do not want you to face it without hope. So consider this your personal invitation to our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Arroyo Church in Livermore.

Christmas Eve at Arroyo: when and where

Thursday, December 24, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.

Arroyo Church, 945 Concannon Blvd., Livermore, CA. Our worship center is the round building, and there is plenty of free parking on site.

Come as you are, and bring the whole family. We will have a kids program during the service, so your kids will have a place of their own. You do not need to dress up, and you do not need to have your faith figured out to be welcome here.

If you can't be there in person, you can still join us. The service will be livestreamed on the Arroyo Church YouTube channel.

What happens at our Christmas Eve service

We will sing Christmas carols together, hear the story of the night Jesus was born, and end the service by lighting candles together.

We do not light candles just because it looks beautiful, even though it does. The Bible calls Jesus the light of the world, and John wrote this about Him:

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5, NIV)

Some of us walk into Christmas carrying real darkness. It might be a struggling marriage, depression, grief, or a fear you have not told anyone about. When we light those candles, we remember that Jesus is the light in the middle of all of it, and the darkness does not get the final word.

If you want a feel for the night before you come, here is last year's Christmas Eve service.

The reason Jesus was born

Last Christmas Eve, I talked about the night God was born. Before Jesus was born, an angel told Joseph what to name Him:

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21, NIV)

The name Jesus means "the Lord saves." Matthew then shows that His birth fulfilled a promise God made about 700 years earlier: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (Matthew 1:23, NIV). Immanuel means "God with us."

Those two names tell you why Jesus came. He came to save you, and He came to be with you. He left the perfection of heaven to be born into a humble family and laid in a feeding trough, because He would rather do that than live without you. The reason for Christmas is relationship.

That is the hope of Christmas. No matter what this year has held, God came near to you, and He still wants to be with you.

Christmas is not about us climbing a ladder up to God. It is about God leaving heaven and coming down to us. He has already reached out His hand to you, and the question is whether you will grab hold of it. If God has been calling you, do not send Him to voicemail. You can answer Him today.

If you are ready, you could pray something like this:

Jesus, thank You for being born. Thank You for pursuing me even when I was running away from You. I commit my life to You by faith, and I place You as Lord and Savior of my life. I give You my life for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name, amen.

If you prayed that prayer, I would love to hear about it. You can tell us on our Connect page.

Everyone is welcome on Christmas Eve

Whether you are with us every week, have not been to church in a while, or are somewhere in between, you are welcome here. If you are in town visiting family, come with them. If this would be your first time in a church, Christmas Eve is a great night to start.

It is also a great night to invite someone. After the shepherds found baby Jesus, "they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child" (Luke 2:17, NIV). They could not keep the good news to themselves. Sometimes all someone needs is a simple invitation, and yours could change their life forever.

Planning your Christmas Eve visit

Not sure what to wear or what to expect? Start with what to wear to church and what a Sunday at Arroyo is like. If you have a question, call the church office at (925) 694-0426, Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If Christmas Eve is your first time with us, we would love to see you again on a Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. You can let us know you are coming on our Plan Your Visit page.

I would really love to see you there. Merry Christmas!