Imagine starting an Easter chain reaction. See lives transformed. Entire families are coming to know Jesus. Building relationships with guests. All because you designed your Easter service to be about more than Easter.
Focus on the impact you want after Easter as you plan the event for Easter.
19 Ideas To Create a Chain Reaction
1. Follow Up
The ultimate goal is not to set attendance records on Easter Sunday. Rather, it’s to see people commit their lives to Jesus and follow Him every day. So be sure to plan a follow-up for people who make this commitment for the first time or would like to connect more with your church.
Be sure to use a Connect Card to gather contact info for follow-up. After Easter, send an email with resources to help them in their faith journey. These could include:
• A replay of the service
• Links to videos or articles
• Invitation to an Alpha group or a connection class
• Info about upcoming events and gatherings
2. Church Marketing University Kits
The Kits are FREE, and they give you all the artwork, files, and guides you need to pull off an effective Easter campaign in your church. Each kit includes helpful video tutorials and tools to help you implement them at your church.
3. Easy Invitations
Make it easy for your members to invite people to church on Easter. In the weeks leading up to Easter, you can encourage members to grab posters, flyers, and invite cards to hand out. Don’t forget to include the landing page URL and hashtag in all your print and digital advertising.
Another idea is to supply digital resources to your members, like graphic invites. Give simple scripts for in-person, email, or text invites that members can copy and paste. You can also share Easter invite social media graphics that people can post on their favourite social media platforms and tag their friends. Reach Right is a great resource for inviting and connecting with guests.
4. Neighborhood Invites
Invite your neighbours to join you in celebrating Easter. Easter door hangers and Easter bags with little goodies and an invitation card are just a few examples of how to get the word out and warmly invite neighbours to church.
5. Fresh Branding
Having a fresh look on your website or Facebook page for Easter can help attract attention. Utilize the fresh design in your marketing materials, stage production, and service elements. Remember that plenty of free and premium church graphics resources are available if you don’t have a designated graphic designer on staff.
Easter can be an ideal time to launch a new brand for your church or refresh an existing one. Or, the branding could be related to your sermon series content. The branding could be tied into an extended sermon series that you START on Easter Sunday. This helps you build more long-lasting momentum around the Easter weekend.
6. Easter Landing Page
A landing page is a single page on your website dedicated to a specific purpose. An Easter landing page keeps your information organized. It gives your members an easy place to go for service info and send people they’re inviting.
Before the big weekend, the Easter landing page can help you increase engagement and gather leads, allowing you to grow your community and find out more about who is coming to church. You can also store resources and follow-up information on the landing page, such as
• Sermon notes
• YouTube videos
• Devotionals or resources
• Next steps for connecting to the church
• Upcoming events
Also, be sure to optimize this page for local SEO, using keyword phrases that incorporate your city and location. Think about appealing to people who will be searching for terms like “Easter services near me” or “Easter church services in ____(insert your town or city).”
7. Easter Hashtag
Create a hashtag for Easter at your church and use it in your marketing materials and social media. This is another opportunity to gather leads and create engagement by asking people to share what they’re doing on Easter with the custom hashtag.
Hashtags are a fun way to get everyone in your church involved. You can also gather all your hashtagged posts in one place, like Pinterest or Instagram, for an easy way of tracking what’s happening at church. Remember to keep it simple to avoid typos and clear enough that people understand what it means.
8. Community Outreach
This is a good time of year to think about your community helpers and organizations. Handing out Easter baskets, lilies, or other goodies, are all ways to show appreciation. Teachers, medical professionals, first responders, and local businesses are all good candidates for an Easter gift.
Although the point of this is to simply serve and express thanks, you should also include information about your Easter services. People are waiting for an invitation!
9. Easter Service Project
A service project can be beneficial in many ways and represents the spirit of loving sacrifice we seek to live out. Everyone loves egg hunts, and perhaps you can provide one somewhere in your community where there is a need or lack of resources. You could partner with a local school or non-profit for an Easter event or another service outreach opportunity.
10. Egg Hunts
The timing of your egg hunt can be strategic. Hosting an egg hunt in the community, or better still, partnering with a community event prior to Easter, provides a good opportunity to invite guests to Easter services.
Having an egg hunt on Easter weekend itself can also be a draw for families with kids to attend service.
11. Digital Advertising
Boost a Facebook post and reach a demographic of people in your community for as little as $50.
Digital advertising is a great way to expand your reach cost-effectively.
12. Preparing Hearts and Minds
People aren’t just looking for a flashy service. They also want to learn, develop, and experience personal spiritual growth. Easter ideas for your church to prepare spiritually in the weeks leading up to the holiday include:
• A special prayer calendar
• A Lenten or Easter devotional
• Some form of fasting
• A focus on events that took place leading up to Easter Sunday
You can house these resources on your Easter landing page and distribute them in social media content.
13. Welcome Experience
First impressions are everything! What do guests experience from the moment they drive onto your church parking lot? Can guests clearly navigate where to park and how to enter the building? Is there a greeter or clearly identified welcome station in the lobby where people can get information?
Remember, the most important factor is a friendly smile and human connection. Make sure you have plenty of volunteers available to make the guest experience great.
14. Children’s Ministry Easter Ideas
Your children’s ministry is vital for a great weekend experience. Safety is the number one priority from a parent’s perspective. With bigger crowds at Easter, you need to ensure there are plenty of kid’s ministry volunteers. Also, think about ways you may need to adjust your check-in and check-out logistics to accommodate more families.
On the other hand, the kids are looking for a fun factor. So, in the weeks leading up to Easter, give them a sneak peek of what to expect. This will get them excited and encourage them to invite their friends. You don’t necessarily need to spend lots of budget dollars, but some Easter ideas for children’s service elements include:
• Decorations
• Indoor activities such as a bouncy house
• Special musical guests
• Dressed up characters for entertainment and picture taking
• Easter-themed games or treats
15. Easter Service Elements
For your church’s Easter service, you’ll probably have people who have never attended church or don’t come regularly.
Consider how you can combine Biblical truth and beloved traditions. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways, including:
• Musical guests
• Special stage design
• Baptism
• Live or video-based creative storytelling elements
• Custom graphics and video clips throughout the service
16. Live Stream Your Easter Service
Remember that there are people who can’t be at your Easter service for one reason or another. For example, they may be out of town, have a medical condition that prohibits attendance, or have other reasons for needing to watch from home. Consider both online and in-room audiences as you prepare service elements.
17. Photo Opportunities
Church photo booths aren’t new, but they sure are effective (and fun). People (especially moms) love taking themed family photos on special occasions.
Subtly incorporate your church branding or name into the photo setup and encourage people to use the hashtags you came up with as part of your Easter ideas. Then, when people post their photos online, it will help spread the word about your church.
Another approach is to invite photographers and families to take photos at your church in the weeks before and after Easter. You can use a mural or backdrop display. Search Pinterest or Instagram for creative Easter ideas for photo backdrops.
18. Water Baptisms
Easter is the perfect time for water baptism. Baptism is a symbol of resurrection and new life, which is the Easter message. People can invite their friends and family not only to a special service but also to a significant milestone in their faith journey.
19. Giveaways and Goodies
Every great celebration includes treats and gifts. Also, providing a giveaway after service gives people a reason to provide contact info, linger, and connect with others. While food, coffee, and dessert are always popular, you could also consider handing out a physical gift people can take home. Or, give out a card that can be scanned for a digital resource or download.
Combine all or some of these ideas this Easter and see a chain reaction of engagement with your guests coming to your church.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.