Updated 2 November 2026 · by Stuart Ross
Every Learn2soar nativity play is suitable for churches, Sunday schools and children’s groups. Our top 10 for churches are Big Bad Ben Of Bethlehem, The Right Shepherds, Keeping Mr Inn In The Inn, C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S Spells Christmas (Infants and Juniors), Our First Nativity and Our First Nativity TWO, Happy Birthday Jesus, The Egyptian Nativity, What A Star, The ABC Nativity and Cool Carols.
Yes, we DO sell ‘church nativity plays’, as well as ‘school nativity plays’, and guess what? They’re the same thing! This may sound like an odd thing to say, but it’s become clear to us that not everyone understands this!
The truth is, ALL of our Nativity plays are suitable for church use. In addition, all our non-nativity Christmas musicals and plays still feature the true message of Christmas in one way or another.
At a glance
| # | Show | Ages | Running time | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bad Ben Of Bethlehem | 5–11 | 15–35 mins | 15 to 100+ |
| 2 | The Right Shepherds | 7–11 | 40–50 mins | 9 to 100+ |
| 3 | Keeping Mr Inn In The Inn | 6–11 | 20–50 mins | 1 to 100+ |
| 4 | C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S Spells Christmas (Infants / Juniors) | 3–7 / 7–11 | 10–30 / 20–60 mins | 2 to 60+ / 2 to 100+ |
| 5 | Our First Nativity / Our First Nativity TWO | 2–5 | 10–25 mins | 2 to 100+ |
| 6 | Happy Birthday Jesus | 2–7 | 10–20 mins | 10 to 100+ |
| 7 | The Egyptian Nativity | 7–11 | 30–60 mins | 2 to 80+ |
| 8 | What A Star | 3–7 | 15–30 mins | 2 to 100+ |
| 9 | The ABC Nativity | 3–7 | 10–30 mins | 2 to 100+ |
| 10 | Cool Carols | 7–11 | 20–40 mins | 1 to 150+ |
Plays for small churches, short services and all-age groups
The easiest Christmas plays for a small church are ones that work with a handful of children and still fill the stage when more turn up. Cool Carols and Keeping Mr Inn In The Inn have been known to work with just 1 child, and Our First Nativity, The ABC Nativity and What A Star can work with as few as 2. For the shortest service slot, Happy Birthday Jesus and Our First Nativity 1 & 2 run in as little as 10 minutes!
| If you need… | Choose | Running time | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|
| A very small group | Cool Carols | 20–40 mins | 1 to 150+ |
| A very small group, with laughs | Keeping Mr Inn In The Inn | 20–50 mins | 1 to 100+ |
| The shortest slot | Happy Birthday Jesus | 10–20 mins | 10 to 100+ |
| Under-5s with almost no lines | Our First Nativity or Our First Nativity TWO | 10–25 mins | 2 to 100+ |
| A wide age range (3–11) | C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S Spells Christmas, Infants and Juniors combined | 10–60 mins | 2 to 100+ |
| A funny show with a strong message | Big Bad Ben Of Bethlehem | 15–35 mins | 15 to 100+ |
| Rehearsal in a day | Cool Carols | 20–40 mins | 1 to 150+ |
Stuart’s tip: in a small church, numbers change week to week. Choose a show with more than one script, so you can switch to the simpler one if half your cast is off with colds.
Not Christian Enough!
We believe we’ve identified one of the main reasons churches sometimes pass us by. It seems that people searching for ‘Church Nativity Plays’, didn’t think our webpages, or our plays looked “Christian enough”! Sure, our webpages are heavily marketed towards schools, rather than churches, using terms like ‘teachers’, ‘pupils’ and ‘classes’, rather than ‘congregation’. We make no excuses for this. Schools and preschool establishments around the world are our main customer base. But come on people, let’s be clear. A nativity play is a nativity play, no matter what setting it’s performed in!
A Modern Twist
Secondly, it seems that some people don’t like the fact that most of our nativity plays have a ‘modern twist’, deeming them ‘unholy’ or ‘unbiblical’ in some people’s eyes. Well apart from that being highly debatable, the real question is: Does having a ‘modern twist’ make our nativity plays any less suitable for a church setting? Absolutely not.
Jesus often used parables to explain his teachings. He didn’t just rely on stories from what we now know as the Old Testament. Instead, he created fresh stories that were relevant to the time and culture in which he lived. In the same way, our church nativity plays aim to make the biblical nativity story speak in new, fresh and exciting ways to our generation. Surely that’s what any church service should be trying to do. Speak words from the bible in relevant ways to a modern generation. So, at Christmas time, we believe our nativity plays should be top of the ‘must-do’ list of any church.
Top 10 Church Nativity Plays
Here are links to our 10 best-selling church nativity plays. (Which are all very Christian, we promise) …
1. Big Bad Ben Of Bethlehem
Yes, it may seem like a naughty sounding play with a mischievous title. We can see how that might put some churches off straight away. But that would be a shame as the hilarious nativity ‘Big Bad Ben’ is probably our most unashamedly Christian play. In it, the main character, Big Bad Ben (the innkeeper’s son) totally changes his ways when he sees the face of Jesus. Then, at the end of the play he sings: “I wasn’t looking, but Jesus found me, inside I’ve been changed, look at me and see!” We think you’ll agree, that says it all!
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
2. The Right Shepherds
The Angel Gabriel is on a mission from God to tell the wonderful news of Christ’s birth to some shepherds. The trouble is, Gabriel can’t find the right shepherds, because the worried shepherds, the daydreaming shepherds and the lazy shepherds just won’t do! This nativity musical has a great message for any church congregation as it basically asks the question, what type of shepherd are you? If God asked you to do something, would you be too lazy, or too worried to actually do it? Or would you obey without question?
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
3. Keeping Mr Inn In The Inn
A rib-tickling, tongue-twisting nativity performance. There are two innkeepers in Bethlehem – Mr. Inn & Mr. Out! One day the town council announces that one of their inns must be demolished to make way for a multi-storey CAMEL park! Which inn will go? Will Inn be in and Out be out, or Out be in and Inn be out??!!! This nativity play for ages 6-11 also features the themes of miracles, charity, kindness and answered prayers.
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
4. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S Spells Christmas For INFANTS and C-H-R… Spells Christmas For JUNIORS:
The nativity story told through the letters that spell the word Christmas. Very simple, extremely effective, and a LOT of fun! You can’t go wrong with it. TIP: A lot of churches / Sunday schools with wide age ranges tend to buy both versions of this play and merge them together.
INFANT version: CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
JUNIOR version: CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
5. Our First Nativity and Our First Nativity TWO:
These two early years performances are our best-selling nativity plays. The nativity in its simplest form possible. Great for very young children, but if you have a very wide age range don’t be put off by the title. We know of many churches who have used these nativities with all ages, by simply missing out the first song, or by changing the line that says, “Our first nativity” into “Our church nativity”. A guaranteed winner! Both now include lyric videos.
Our First Nativity (ONE) – CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
Our First Nativity (TWO) – CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
6. Happy Birthday Jesus
Once upon a time, a little boy called Jesus was celebrating his fourth birthday by holding a fun-filled party! In between some of the party games, Jesus suddenly asked his mother if she would retell the amazing story of how he was born! Enter angels, wise men, shepherds and more, for a delightful Christmas nativity play. This preschool performance is great for reminding children that the real ‘reason for the season’ is all about celebrating Christ’s birth.
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
7. The Egyptian Nativity
This funny nativity play tells the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Egypt, to escape Herod. This musical looks at Mary and Joseph from the point of view of them effectively being ‘asylum seekers’ in their temporary home of Egypt. One of the main themes running through the play is ‘God’s plan’, with references to Jeremiah 29 vs 11. Two songs even use this chorus: “Know that your Father holds the world in His hands. Know that your Father, has a perfect plan. A plan to always prosper, never to harm, with a future safe, in His everlasting arms.”
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
8. What A Star
A cute nativity, which tells the story of a small shy star, who’s given a BIG job to do over Bethlehem. This nativity was written to help boost children’s self-image, and also reinforces the view that God loves and cares for everyone, no matter who they are. Even if we feel small and insignificant, God sees us as special and still has big plans for us. The final song contains a line which says, “Everyone’s special, God thinks you are. Everyone’s special, you are a star!” You can find out more about the creation of ‘What A Star’ here. Now with lyric videos.
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
9. The ABC Nativity
“A is for Angel, B is for Baby, C is for Celebrate with Joseph and Mary!”… You’ll have lots of fun with this time-saving, easy-to-use, alphabetic nativity play. ‘The ABC Nativity’ comes with two editable, rhyming scripts, which tell the traditional nativity story in a very clever way. It contains eight very easy songs, all of which are based on familiar tunes.
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
10. Cool Carols
A super flexible, quick and easy nativity performance. Two rhyming, traditional nativity scripts (with NO modern twists) have been mixed with 9 traditional Christmas carols and two new Christmas songs, all of which have a modern, fresh sound. This brilliant combination allows you to easily produce the perfect nativity production that will be a hit with kids and parents. The two scripts are a simple, literal retelling of the biblical nativity story. In addition, both scripts use rhyming verse, traditional carols with modern music, and optional bible readings. Unlike other nativities, the script begins with the prophet Isaiah, before moving on to the regular nativity story.
CLICK HERE to get MORE INFO & BUY NOW!
More Church Nativity Plays
Finally, please remember that ALL our Christmas publications feature the true meaning of Christmas, one way or another. And to illustrate this point, we’ll leave you one of our favourite nativity songs from a play not even in this list. This is ‘Glory, Glory’ from ‘Away WITH The Manger’. The chorus goes, “Glory, glory, celebrate the Saviour’s birth, Jesus is King over all the earth. Glory, glory, hallelujah, Jesus will reign for ever.”
Help your congregation practise at home
Every Christmas title can come with a Rehearsal Page: a private, password-protected page you share with families, with lyric videos and audio for home practice. Find out more.
Frequently asked questions
Do churches need a licence to perform a nativity play?
Yes. Churches, Sunday schools and children’s groups need a licence to perform a published play, even if admission is free. Every Learn2soar Digital Publication includes a one-year performance licence for as many performances as you like.
Which nativity works best for a wide age range?
Many churches combine the infant and junior versions of C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S Spells Christmas, or use Our First Nativity with all ages by making a couple of small changes.
Which is the most traditional?
Cool Carols is a simple, literal retelling of the biblical nativity story, with no modern twists.
What are some easy Christmas plays for a small church?
Cool Carols and Keeping Mr Inn In The Inn can be performed by just 1 child with narrators, and Our First Nativity, The ABC Nativity and What A Star by 2. All of them grow to 100 or more if your numbers rise. Every one includes editable scripts, so you can merge or cut parts to fit.
What are some funny church Christmas plays?
Big Bad Ben Of Bethlehem (a naughty innkeeper’s son meets Super-Nanny Gabriel), Keeping Mr Inn In The Inn (rival innkeepers and a multi-storey camel park) and The Right Shepherds (Gabriel auditions some very unlikely shepherds) are all comedies with a clear Christian message. For the youngest children, The Fairytale Land Nativity Show casts the Big Bad Wolf as the innkeeper.
What is a good short Christmas play for church?
Happy Birthday Jesus (10–20 minutes), Our First Nativity (10–25 minutes) and The ABC Nativity (10–30 minutes) are our shortest church-friendly nativities. Cool Carols runs 20–40 minutes but can be rehearsed in a single day.
Can adults or teenagers take part?
Yes. Narrator parts can be read by adults or older children in any of our plays, and many churches give the bigger roles to teenagers. If you want a nativity that’s also suitable for older children and teens, then use The Egyptian Nativity, The Right Shepherds, or C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S Spells Christmas for Juniors.
To see our full range of church nativity plays, please CLICK HERE.