Christians celebrate two major holidays each year, Christmas and Easter. These holidays highlight two major historical and theological events—our God’s incarnation and our Savior’s resurrection from the dead. The difference between the two is that Christmas tends to be a prolonged event, lasting a few weeks, whereas the focus on Easter is usually just one day—Easter Sunday.
Thus Easter becomes a more focused event, with more people converging in one place at one time. The faithful find it as a day of celebration and encouragement in all that the resurrection of Christ stands for (Romans 1:4; 4:25; 6:4; 8:11; I Peter 1:3). But it is also a day when the casual attenders, the unchurched, and even the non-believers come to the church. It, therefore, makes sense for the church to make every effort to reach out to these people, either to evangelize them or to encourage them to become committed to Christ. The church needs to maximize the impact of Easter Sunday, especially in the days following that great event. Here are some suggestions on how to get the most out of our efforts in this great Christian celebration.
Since Easter is, for the most part, a one-day (or one weekend) event, it pays to prepare well. This preparation calls for protracted times of prayer in anticipation of what will take place. It includes careful planning and preparation of the details that must be in place to make the day a special day. These details include adequate parking, clean facilities, workers to cover every post from the parking lot to the nursery, and all the parts and participants of the actual Easter worship service. This is no small feat. There must also be adequate publicity and promotion of the church’s Easter services through literature, postcards, door hangers, and website. It also helps to encourage members to invite guests to Easter service. (Remember that the main reason the non-churched do not attend church is that no one invites them). Easter must be different than the usual Sunday. It even calls for the pastor to prepare a special sermon on the grand theme of Easter—the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The church on Easter Sunday must be at its best. It must be in a state of readiness. To evangelize the lost and impact the believer with the truth of God’s Word, we must focus special attention on the newcomers to the church. The church must provide a warm reception from the parking lot to the pew. The newcomer and casual attendee must feel a sense of welcome and acceptance to the church and worship service. The regulars should be encouraged to be especially friendly on this day and to go out of their way to greet “strangers.”
Easter can be a time of “harvest,” where the church focuses on those who come without Christ and those who need to return to church. The pastor or worship leader can give a warm and special welcome to all the guests present. The church might do well to provide some means of registration of guests and casual attendees. We have found that most guests are not reluctant to share their contact information with the church. Registration cards can be provided in the pews or bulletins. In addition, the pastor may want to preview the sermon for the next week, and he may even consider starting a new series the Sunday after Easter and make that announcement to invite them to come back to share in the timely topic. Finally, the church can provide a welcome center for guests with refreshments and information. The center should have informed believers there and maybe even the presence of the pastor or one of the staff. Here the guests can make personal contact with the church.
The days after Easter Sunday is a time of harvesting. The church has done so much work in anticipation of the great crowds, and so much prayer and ministry have taken place that it is only proper for the church to harvest the results of God’s work from Easter Sunday. I would recommend the following suggestions on maximizing the efforts made on Easter Sunday.
Our Lord spoke about the harvest being plentiful (Matthew 9:37) and that the fields were white for harvest (John 4:35). He referred to a harvest He has prepared and thus invites us to participate in being workers of that harvest. Easter Sunday provides a marvelous opportunity to point the world to the risen Lord Jesus Christ, the hope of the world, and to offer the world a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). Thus, we need to plan for a great sowing at Easter time and then prepare to harvest the results of God’s work through His church. May our Lord bless your efforts this Easter Sunday, and may we maximize the impact of God’s Word this Easter season.
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Thus Easter becomes a more focused event, with more people converging in one place at one time. The faithful find it as a day of celebration and encouragement in all that the resurrection of Christ stands for (Romans 1:4; 4:25; 6:4; 8:11; I Peter 1:3). But it is also a day when the casual attenders, the unchurched, and even the non-believers come to the church. It, therefore, makes sense for the church to make every effort to reach out to these people, either to evangelize them or to encourage them to become committed to Christ. The church needs to maximize the impact of Easter Sunday, especially in the days following that great event. Here are some suggestions on how to get the most out of our efforts in this great Christian celebration.
The days before Easter Sunday
Since Easter is, for the most part, a one-day (or one weekend) event, it pays to prepare well. This preparation calls for protracted times of prayer in anticipation of what will take place. It includes careful planning and preparation of the details that must be in place to make the day a special day. These details include adequate parking, clean facilities, workers to cover every post from the parking lot to the nursery, and all the parts and participants of the actual Easter worship service. This is no small feat. There must also be adequate publicity and promotion of the church’s Easter services through literature, postcards, door hangers, and website. It also helps to encourage members to invite guests to Easter service. (Remember that the main reason the non-churched do not attend church is that no one invites them). Easter must be different than the usual Sunday. It even calls for the pastor to prepare a special sermon on the grand theme of Easter—the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Easter Sunday
The church on Easter Sunday must be at its best. It must be in a state of readiness. To evangelize the lost and impact the believer with the truth of God’s Word, we must focus special attention on the newcomers to the church. The church must provide a warm reception from the parking lot to the pew. The newcomer and casual attendee must feel a sense of welcome and acceptance to the church and worship service. The regulars should be encouraged to be especially friendly on this day and to go out of their way to greet “strangers.”
Easter can be a time of “harvest,” where the church focuses on those who come without Christ and those who need to return to church. The pastor or worship leader can give a warm and special welcome to all the guests present. The church might do well to provide some means of registration of guests and casual attendees. We have found that most guests are not reluctant to share their contact information with the church. Registration cards can be provided in the pews or bulletins. In addition, the pastor may want to preview the sermon for the next week, and he may even consider starting a new series the Sunday after Easter and make that announcement to invite them to come back to share in the timely topic. Finally, the church can provide a welcome center for guests with refreshments and information. The center should have informed believers there and maybe even the presence of the pastor or one of the staff. Here the guests can make personal contact with the church.
The days after Easter Sunday
The days after Easter Sunday is a time of harvesting. The church has done so much work in anticipation of the great crowds, and so much prayer and ministry have taken place that it is only proper for the church to harvest the results of God’s work from Easter Sunday. I would recommend the following suggestions on maximizing the efforts made on Easter Sunday.
- Follow through on Easter Sunday by providing the same readiness on the Sundays after Easter as Easter Sunday itself. The church should expect some of the guests to return in the following weeks, especially if the Word of God, the warmth of the church, and the pastor’s invitation to return have touched them. The pastor can start a new series just for this occasion or plan to recap what he has been preaching to benefit the new attendees. In short, the excitement of Easter Sunday should carry over into the following Sundays.
- Follow up with visitors and guests who came on Easter Sunday. If the church could provide registration cards or a registration table for the guests, then it has an opportunity to follow up with some type of contact. This may include an e-mail, a letter on church stationery, a phone call, or even a personal visit from a team equipped to do personal home visitations. The purpose of the follow-up is to express appreciation for their visit, to provide additional information about the church, to encourage the guest in their Christian life, and to evangelize them with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have found that if the guests provide their information, they appreciate the contact made by the church—especially if they have received a warm reception and a clear message of God’s Word. Keep in mind that very few churches visit their guests or visitors and thus miss an excellent opportunity for ministry. I remember calling one of our guests on Saturday night to express our appreciation for their visit the previous Sunday. The guest replied that they had never received a call or a visit from any of the churches they had visited before. They returned to our church and have remained ever since. This may not be the result of every call or visit, but it does illustrate the harvest we can reap if we make an effort.
- Focus on casual attendees with a shepherd’s heart. Many who come on Easter Sunday are “Christmas and Easter Christians.” They only come on these two Sundays and perhaps a few others throughout the year. They are not officially “first-timers” and thus may not register and appear to be guests. On the other hand, these people are usually familiar to someone in the congregation or the pastor and his staff. Special note should be made of these, and then a letter, call, or visit would be in order. These “casual attendees” may need and appreciate a special word of encouragement to welcome them back to the church. Some seek an “entry point” to get them back into church. We should take advantage of their presence on Easter Sunday.
- Plan for a new attendees reception a few weeks after Easter. If the efforts of Easter Sunday result in a number of new attendees, then it would be nice to provide a special reception for those new to the church or who have returned. This can be a special reception after the morning service (or even on a Saturday afternoon), where you serve refreshments or a meal, where they can become acquainted, meet with the pastor and his family, and have some of their questions answered. Those who wish to attend such a reception are those whom the church has impacted. Thus the church has maximized its Easter Sunday efforts. As new people continue to attend, the church can offer such receptions as needed.
Our Lord spoke about the harvest being plentiful (Matthew 9:37) and that the fields were white for harvest (John 4:35). He referred to a harvest He has prepared and thus invites us to participate in being workers of that harvest. Easter Sunday provides a marvelous opportunity to point the world to the risen Lord Jesus Christ, the hope of the world, and to offer the world a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). Thus, we need to plan for a great sowing at Easter time and then prepare to harvest the results of God’s work through His church. May our Lord bless your efforts this Easter Sunday, and may we maximize the impact of God’s Word this Easter season.
Related:
8 Daily Devotionals from Palm Sunday to Easter
Ten Ways Pastors Can Prepare for Easter
Seize the Easter Opportunity!
The post Thinking ahead to Easter and Beyond appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...
