Celebrate

How was Easter at your church? Attendance was probably high. A lot of people probably got saved. Capture the stories and celebrate! Share the wins with staff and volunteers. Celebrate it with your congregation next Sunday. Champion the volunteers and staff who went above and beyond to serve the large crowds. Brag on the people working behind the scenes on social media. Write thank you cards.

Evaluate

One thing is for sure: Easter will happen again next year. While the experience is fresh, start planning now by asking key questions. What went well? What should we keep doing? What went wrong? What should we stop doing? Capture key numbers like attendance, first-time guests, salvations, etc. Then tee yourself for next year by setting up a reminder to look at this information when you plan for next Easter.

Rest

There’s an expression, “The project is not done until the tools have been put away.” Have the props from the Easter special been put away? Have the leftover invite cards been thrown out? Has all the Easter promo stuff been removed from the website? Being intentional about this step creates a culture of thoroughness and excellence. Sloppiness erodes your credibility and compromises the power of a successful event.

Recharge

Easter was a lot of work! Before diving into your next big thing (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, summer events, fall, Christmas, etc.) make sure to rest, dote on your family and soak in God’s word and presence for a fresh revelation.

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Gather resources. Consider creating a page on your website that answers common questions about faith and Jesus. Plan to launch a study or seminar that’s focused on doubt in the weeks following Easter, and pull together a list of potentially helpful books.

Include a simple bulletin insert that first assures them that their doubt and questions are OK, then provides information on all of your resources and upcoming studies or events they may find helpful. Something like:

Still have questions? Many people do. You’ve just heard the story of Jesus rising from the dead, but after you leave the church, when brunch is over and you’ve had your fill of chocolate, you might wonder—is it just a story? Or did it really happen? If it did, what does it mean to me? If you’ve got those questions, we’ve got options for you. We hope you’ll check out the websites and events we’ve provided to help you in your research. Take the time you need to consider it. The issues are worth it.

Also include the emails or phone numbers of a few people willing to talk one-on-one with those who have questions.

Verbally reassure. Let them know before the service concludes that although they might want to respond to Jesus—and that’s great—if they don’t believe a word you said, you and the church are open to exploration, discussion and are able to talk and answer questions.

The hardest part of all of this, of course, is that you have to really want to do that and have time and/or people who will. Easter week is exhausting and you’ll probably just want to rest, but the most important part of the celebration can come after if you allow visitors to doubt, question, discuss, search and ultimately meet Jesus—the real reason we celebrate Easter.

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Find more Easter outreach ideas »

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Find more Easter outreach ideas »

Find more spring outreach ideas »

Check out more “Try This” idea starters »

Find more Easter outreach ideas »

Find more spring outreach ideas »

Check out more “Try This” idea starters »

The four campuses of the metro Detroit-area congregation will direct proceeds from an Easter campaign to their northern neighbors, specifically Flint, Michigan-area families who have been suffering the effects of a water-quality crisis since 2014. For every person who attends one of the churches’ 18 services on April 14 through 16, NorthRidge will donate $1 to a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and public health advocate.

“Many people miss it—they see the size of our church but they don’t know the size of our heart is even bigger,” said NorthRidge Senior Pastor Brad Powell.

Church leaders wanted to take this opportunity to have the greatest impact spreading the hope of Jesus to parents and children living in Flint who continue to be warned of potential health risks of consuming water from the Flint River, the primary source of drinking water for the city until contamination was confirmed in 2016.

“Resolving the water-quality problem could take millions of dollars and several years, but we at NorthRidge want to do what we can do now for the children of Flint, God’s children,” Powell said, citing support for the nonprofit’s goal to understand—and overcome—the impact of poor water quality on local children’s health.

“Each Easter, God surprises us with how many people show up at NorthRidge to hear his story,” Powell said. “We want to use what God is doing at NorthRidge to try to help make a difference in the lives of Flint families who had to learn that the water they were drinking and bathing in every day—a resource we tend to take for granted as being safe—was contaminated by lead, potentially causing disease.”

This Easter campaign continues NorthRidge Church’s practice to donate resources collected from members and visitors to local and global humanitarian efforts, beyond the four church home communities.

“This is another chance for us to show God’s love,” Powell said. “Our goal of seeing our world changed by the hope of Jesus can and must have real tangible results.”

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1. Ask.

Talk to the families in your church who have children with autism. Ask them if there are small adjustments you can make in or during your service to help—a softer chair, dimmer or brighter lights, turning the volume down or moving a speaker, etc.

2. Make room.

If you have a number of families with autistic children, consider creating a room just for them—dim lights, gentle music, comfy chairs, simple crafts. Be sure to stream the worship service on-screen for parents.

3. Educate.

Set up a table one Sunday with information about autism, ways to get involved, local fundraisers, etc. Give away autism puzzle ribbons. Download posters, order ribbons and more at Autism-Society.org.

4. Family flick.

Check your local theaters (AMCTheatres.com/programs/sensory-friendly-films) to see if sensory-friendly films are offered. If so, organize an event for families with autistic children—a movie followed by dinner or snacks at your church. This allows families in your community who are dealing with similar challenges to connect.

5. Train volunteers.

For your volunteers who work with or teach children with autism, help by equipping and training them. The Autism Society offers free online courses—“Autism 101” and “Autism and the Environment”—at Autism-Society.org/Get-Involved.

TRY THIS

St. Mark Lutheran in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, and Temple Lutheran in Havertown, Pennsylvania, assembled more than 300 autism-friendly worship bags. Each bag contained two board books, seven sensory toys like putty and stress balls and a laminated page describing the different parts of worship. St. Mark and Temple then delivered them to other area churches.

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1. Set a day aside for some spring cleaning in the community.

Contact your local parks organization and find out what needs to be done and where. Then, send teams of volunteers to pick up trash, pull weeds, etc. Build a partnership with your parks—you may want to use them as venues for future events.

2. Landscape local senior-living centers with brightly colored flowers and bushes.

Also, consider enlisting Sunday school children to plant individual flowers (e.g., marigolds and petunias) in cups affixed with Scripture verses, then deliver them to the residents for their windowsills.

3. Care for creation during spring.

Distribute a list to church attendees with suggestions for helping the environment. Include items like replacing all light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, adjusting thermostats, insulating your home and buying energy-efficient products.

4. Ask church members for the names of neighbors who may need help with yardwork.

Such as those who have recently lost a loved one, single moms and families with a parent serving overseas in the military. Send a team of volunteers to ready their house and yard for spring.

5. Bring Easter kindness to your community.

Easter is often more inwardly focused than Christmas and Thanksgiving. Consider marking Easter weekend with a significant act of service, and invite your community to join with your church.

6. Send teams out to offer Easter celebration services to those who can’t come to church.

Like people in nursing homes and jails. Ask permission first, and provide a service complete with music, communion and a Scripture-based message.

7. Thank public servants with Easter lilies.

Instead of spending money on Easter lilies to decorate your church, buy lilies as a donation to local businesses, hospitals, law-enforcement agencies and schools. Attach a small tag from your church: “With appreciation during this Easter season.”

8. Hold a “Resurrection Run” motorcycle rally.

Gather up the bikers in your community. Organize the event a week before Easter, and invite everyone who participates to your Easter services.

9. Offer free Easter portraits.

Set up an Easter-themed backdrop for pictures after the worship service. Give each person a connection card, including a website URL for accessing the photos.

10. Coordinate an Easter egg drop.

One church dropped 18,000 plastic eggs from a helicopter across the local high school’s soccer fields for its neighborhood children.

11. Take Easter to the homeless.

On Easter Sunday, one church closed its doors and set up shop on a downtown street corner, holding a worship-and-communion service for the homeless there. They also grilled burgers and passed them out to the attendees.

12. Deliver Easter eggs to women’s shelters.

Enlist volunteers and kids to decorate dozens of eggs, and then bring them to women and children at a local woman’s shelter.

13. Set up a drive-through passion play.

Stage a free, drive-through drama of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in your parking lot. Provide motorists with information about your church’s Easter services as they arrive and invite them to park and come inside for refreshments before they leave.

Pre-Easter: Inviting Your Community

1. Easter Kindness

Easter is often more inwardly focused than Christmas and Thanksgiving. This year, mark Easter weekend with a significant act of service to your community (restore hiking trails, host a dinner for the homeless and underprivileged, hold a blood drive, run a 10K for a local women’s shelter, etc.) and invite your community to join with your church.

2. Easter Signs

In cities where increasing restrictions are affecting public signage, creative churches are using silk-screened, corrugated plastic yard signs. Planted on church members’ front lawns, the signs invite neighbors to Easter services and outreach events.

3. One Card. One Guest.

Hand out printed invitations to Easter worship services to all of your regular attendees. Ask them to pray for one person God is leading them to invite. Members either mail or hand-deliver the invitations to those people they’ve been praying for.

4. Palm Sunday Reflection

The Sunday before Easter, invite your community to join you for a meaningful time of spiritual reflection. Consider creating sacred spaces that guide people through the events leading up to the cross. It helps prepare people mentally, emotionally and spiritually for the Holy Week. You may want to borrow from the liturgy of other churches to help create the sacred environment.

5. Email Invitations

In addition to direct mail, signage, fliers and other materials, promote your Easter service with an e-card that can easily be forwarded along with a personal note from your members.

6. Spring Cleaning

The week before Easter, host a huge, communitywide garage sale to benefit a local charity or cause. Offer a tax receipt to any donors and even offer to pick up larger items. Make it a fun community event by providing food, music and fliers promoting your church’s Easter week activities.

7. Egg-vitations

The Sunday before Easter, give children 10 plastic eggs with candy and an invitation for their friends and families to attend the Easter service. It is great to see children involved as inviters.

8. Last Supper Re-enactment

Attract art appreciators to a Maundy Thursday drama of the scene, using Scripture as a script and DaVinci’s painting for costume and backdrop inspiration.

9. Artists at the Foot of the Cross Gallery

Turn a multipurpose room into a gallery of crucifixion art, poetry and music created by people of all ages. Invite the community to participate.

10. Easter Parade To Go

Contact a local senior center or assisted living community and asked if your church may bring residents a nostalgic evening of the Irving Berlin classic film, popcorn and lemonade.

11. Messiah Live!

Host an evening of live orchestra presenting Handel’s oratorio. Engage your city’s orchestra.

12. Free Car Wash

Organize a car wash free of charge with no strings attached. Just leave a small Easter card with your church’s Easter worship activities in each vehicle.

Easter Weekend

13. Community Humility

Participate in a communitywide Easter service held at a large local venue, like a school stadium. Bring together pastors from various denominations to plan, pray, share ideas and divide the workload and costs.

14. Easter Road Show

Instead of putting all your resources into a large Easter church service, develop a team that can conduct Easter services at locations around your community. Housing projects, senior citizen developments, trailer parks, etc., are good places to start. You’ll hit “low mobility” individuals and families who might never have the chance to visit your church and hear the Gospel.

15. Appreciation Easter Lilies

Instead of spending money for Easter lilies to decorate the church, purchase lilies as a donation to local businesses, hospitals, law enforcement, schools, etc. Attach a small sign or tag from your church, “With appreciation during this Easter season.”

16. Resurrection Run.

Hold a Resurrection Run motorcycle rally each year and invite motorcycle enthusiasts from the community to participate.

Find more children’s outreach ideas »

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