Is your church prepared for Easter? As Easter quickly approaches many churches are scurrying around creating print materials, storyboarding for videos, finalizing songs and service planning. I have heard Easter referred to as the churches’ Superbowl. So many people that are unchurched will pass through the doors of your church and for that reason you want to make sure you have your best foot forward.
So as we inch closer to Easter, I thought it would be timely to share a “checklist” of sorts on how to prepare for Easter.
Make Your Church Shine(y).
Start with the building. You have to be critical on this because chances are you are working everyday at the church and used to your surroundings. How does the lawn and drive outside look, has winter taken it’s toll. When you are inside how does the information desk look? Is it cluttered with brochures and handouts? How about the windows, how long since they have been cleaned from the outside? It is so important to make sure that you make people feel comfortable and it starts with a clean and “shiny” church.
Ask The Members For Help.
Just as the staff gets prepared for Easter it is a good time to prepare the members for Easter. I am not referring to just the
recruitment of volunteers. I am also suggesting that we ask our members to sacrifice some of their convenience for Easter Sunday. The church, I attend, has multiple services, and typically the pastor will communicate the need for members to attend the “less busy” service in order to accommodate the newcomers on Easter. They will also ask for members to park in the lots that require shuttles so that newcomers can park on campus. Yes it is an inconvenience but I will venture to guess that the majority of your members are willing to help any way they can.
Be Intentional
Details matter. I believe being prepared for Easter Sunday, means being intentional. Do you have a
brand book or some design elements that are being used throughout your Easter promotions? Do those elements crossover from print to digital in a consistent fashion? Have you thought about the new signage that is needed to help facilitate information to the newcomers. Do those signs make sense to the newcomer or are they laced with acronyms that few will understand. Have you put together the slides for Easter Sunday or will those be a last minute “to do?”
Moving to service planning, be thoughtful on all elements from order of the service to the worship songs. Hillsong may have come out with the latest and greatest song that works amazingly for Easter but if few know the song they may feel uncomfortable and not want to participate. This is a time to keep things a little traditional but fresh.
