Maybe we’re just naturally optimistic, but things seem to be looking up. And while no one knows what the future will hold, it seems likely that this year will be bigger than last Easter. So here are some ideas to help get more people in the door, and make it a celebration.
Of course, elebrating the resurrection of Jesus is the most important thing, but it’s important to use the creativity God has given you to draw people in. This doesn’t mean you have to do a helicopter egg drop- just do some simple things to help people find your church! There are people to want to go to church for Easter and just don’t know where to go or what to do. These ideas will help you break the ice, and make them feel comfortable before they decide to show up.
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50 Sermon Series Ideas for Easter
You’ve got enough on your plate to be worrying about where to find inspiration for Easter this year. Well, look no further. Download our list of 50 Sermon Series Ideas for Easter today!
Easter Marketing Ideas for before your service
A lot of your Easter promotion needs to happen before the service starts, so here are some creative ideas to reach your community & let them know about what’s happening on Easter.
Easter Egg Baskets
This is a simple and fairly inexpensive way to reach out to the neighborhoods around the church. Fill the baskets with some candy, plastic eggs, and a postcard with a handwritten note. You can include your church’s branding/logo, driving directions, and information on services (whether in-person or online). Then, you can drop off or deliver the baskets in, or have people come to pick them up.
This idea illustrates an important principle: when you want to get the word out about your church, many pastors want to invite worldwide. Don’t do it. Instead, force yourself to focus just on the neighborhoods around your church. Aim for reaching deep and making meaningful, lasting connections, instead of trying to invite as many people as possible to your services and hoping a few show up.
Outdoor mural/photo backdrop
Paintings, murals, and walls are always popular places in a city where people want to come and take photos. Create something like this outside your church for Easter- a free, fun thing for people to use! If it catches on as a popular selfie spot, you could start to see it everywhere online- which is a great way to help people realize that your church is there! You could also reach out to your local photography community to let them know that you have a place they can take photos.
Create a directory of local Easter services
Of course, you want everyone to come to your church! But you know that your church isn’t for everyone. So, embrace that fact and create a pdf or page on your website that has the details of all the Easter services in your area. The information should be pretty easy to gather- all you have to do is call the other churches ahead of time to get the details of their services. Then, start promoting that page using a few Facebook ad dollars. The goal is to create a community list, a great resource for people searching online. You can put your service times at the top, but the real idea here is to be helpful.
Why? Because just creating something like this shows helpfulness, and being helpful and adding value to people builds trust with the Church as a whole. It’s all about the Kingdom and the Church and trying to build God’s kingdom.
This idea also speaks to the power of a lead page. A lead page is one page geared toward one specific action- and it’s a great way to direct people’s attention and get them to commit to taking their next step. In this case, that step would be to attend an Easter service.
Give Easter Lilies to local businesses, first responders, or teachers
It’s been a hard year for a lot of people, so give the people who have had to pivot most something to brighten their season. You can include information on the lilies about your Easter services, but this isn’t a hard sell for coming to your church. It’s a simple, kind gesture to let people know they’re welcome if they want to come.
The purpose isn’t to give lilies to every business in your area- again, focus on the places that are close to your church’s building. If you can do one thoughtful thing for a small group of people, that’s going to go a long way.
During Service
You’re probably used to doing something that you can market during your service- and Easter Egg Hunt, for example. If that’s something you church can safely do this year, great! You know how to do that. So in this part, we’re trying to think of some out-of-the-box ideas that you can use this year.
Celebrate Resurrection Sunday with baptisms during church
Encourage people to invite their friends and family to be baptized. But don’t stop there- have some resources on hand for making this an experience for the whole family. For example, instead of just giving the person who was baptized a t-shirt, create coordinating t-shirts for group photos. That way, you’re celebrating the baptism and including their friends and family. Plus, having them invite their friends and family is a great opportunity for their people to hear the gospel message in the end.
Mourn your losses
It might seem wrong that we’re telling you to mourn or commemorate your losses on Easter- after all, Easter is a celebration! But this has been a year of loss for so many people, and taking a moment to acknowledge that during service is a meaningful way to show support. You can create a bulletin board (physical or virtual), where people can submit photos of those they’ve lost. During the service, you can also have a time where people write down difficulties they’ve experienced this year. That’s a great way to put the new life and hope of the resurrection and what it means for our lives into context.
Bonus tip: Plan for the week after Easter
Naturally speaking, you’re going to have more people show up on Easter. But if you want to continue to minister to people, it is equally important to consider what is taking place the week after Easter. How are you going to make a bridge from Easter Sunday to the following Sunday? Divide your resources- time, money, and volunteers- in half between those two Sundays. Because if you can get people to come back, that’s even more important than getting them to show up for Easter. So make sure as you’re planning Easter, you’re also planning for the week after.
We’d love to hear from you! What are your creative ideas for marketing your Easter services? Leave us a comment on Youtube!
FREE DOWNLOAD
50 Sermon Series Ideas for Easter
You’ve got enough on your plate to be worrying about where to find inspiration for Easter this year. Well, look no further. Download our list of 50 Sermon Series Ideas for Easter today!
