If you have been a pastor or church leader for any time at all, you know both the elation of Easter Sunday and the deflation of the Sunday after Easter. Immediately after Easter, the crowd may become much smaller, and your spirits, along with those in your congregation, may feel slightly dampened.
So now what? How can you maximize Easter Sunday in order to keep your church’s momentum going? I would suggest at least four ideas for pastors and other leaders to consider immediately after Easter.
- Evaluation – The best time to plan for next Easter is right after this Easter. While the experience is still fresh in your memory, as well as on the minds of those who serve and lead with you, take time to evaluate your church’s Easter experience, including service times, order of worship, parking, guest reception, response to the message and follow-up. Decide now what you want to keep, add or change for next year.
- Connection – Follow up with Easter attenders immediately and help them take their next spiritual steps. For some, Easter is a cultural holiday that comes and goes. Even so, you should assume that many people who come to your church on Easter Sunday care deeply about their spiritual lives. Your church can help people grow spiritually by connecting with them immediately after Easter Sunday is over. You may want to send an email, use social media or provide a text link to offer practical steps for following Jesus each day of the week following Easter.
- Promotion – Invite people to an upcoming sermon series at your church. You might choose to begin a series that brings biblical answers to real questions or problems people are facing, or you might delve deeper into who Jesus is. You might have a special family event with food an games for everyone. Be creative, there may be some community projects your church can be involved in that newer people can be a part of. It’s all about helping people connect to each other and grow in their relationships with each other and God.
- Appreciation – Don’t forget to thank all of the people who gave their time to make Easter weekend happen. There are volunteers who didn’t hear the message because they were serving families. You have greeters who served in multiple services. You have people who didn’t go to their mom’s church so they could serve. Say thanks, and make sure it’s specific. Carve out a significant amount of time to write thank-you notes and thank people for what they did. Remind them they didn’t watch babies, but they made it possible for people to hear about Jesus. Write a blog post or send an email to your entire church database highlighting the specific service of three or four volunteers.
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