What are the top 3 days of the year people will attend your service?
Did you guess correctly? Easter is number one. Christmas is number two. And did you know that Mother’s Day is number three? Amazing. We’ll talk about that in another article. Today, however, I want us to focus on the top day of the year that people will prayerfully come in droves to your services, Easter.
Let me ask you a quick question. Why did you decide to go into ministry in the first place? Money? Fame? Power? No way! You went into ministry because you felt the call of God on your lives to preach the Word and bring glory to His name. Whether you’ve been in the ministry for one year, or 50, go back to that moment when God called you to the ministry and remember what that call felt like. Let that passion and excitement drive you to prepare for Easter with a relentless devotion to proclaim the truth that Jesus is alive. With that in mind, let’s talk about 7 practical steps you can take in order to prepare for this wonderful day.
1. Team Effort
I’ve written about this before, but I don’t think it can be overstated. Don’t tackle this day, or any day for that matter, alone. God has gifted you in many ways, but His gifts don’t stop there. Find the creatives in your church and bring them on board to brainstorm how to celebrate and make this a remarkable Easter service. And first things first. When you get your team together…pray! Pray for your time. Pray for the people who will come. Pray for people’s hearts to be stirred to come to your services. Pray for salvations. Pray for God to be glorified.
2. Parking Lot Attendants
Yes, I went there. This is a vital position for your Easter service. You know Easter is the most attended Sunday of the year. I know Easter is the most attended Sunday of the year. Your congregation knows Easter is the most attended Sunday of the year. Let your congregation know that you and your team (see point 1) have thought through this and have a plan in place (make sure you have a plan in place) in order to make parking a smooth and seamless effort so they can get inside and celebrate. And then ask for volunteers, share your vision with them, and share the plan. Oh yeah, and make sure to have traffic vests for these volunteers.
3. Welcome Team
Double up on this team. More people at church = more people needed on the welcome team. Encourage this team to celebrate and show the joy of the Lord to any and everyone that walks through the doors of your church. Outside of the parking lot attendants, the welcome team is the first impression visitors will have of your church. Take this team seriously, and encourage them to do the same.
4. Music
When should your worship team leader start preparing? Yesterday! Haha. Ok, today will be fine. But seriously, go ahead and have the team pray through and plan the set. Make sure team members are on board for the service(s). Is anyone traveling? Make sure your i’s are dotted and your t’s are crossed. God uses worship to usher people into His presence. Encourage your worship team to celebrate Jesus and His resurrection with passion and excitement!
5. Media
Search now for some great media to use in order to celebrate on Easter. Media, when used appropriately, can cross generational and ethnic borders. It can be humorous, serious, contemplative. Anything that engages one’s heart and mind in hopes that they will surrender their life to Christ and walk with Him. Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” Consider the people in your church and pray about the best way to connect with them this Easter. Be sure to check out the SermonSearch Media Store for great Easter related media!
6. Celebrate
Have you noticed the running tip throughout this post? Celebrate! Easter is a celebration! Jesus has defeated the grave. Death could not hold Him down. There is hope! We have hope! The world has hope! This Easter, bring your congregation to the tomb and look. They won’t find anything. He’s. Not. There. He’s alive! That should cause us all to celebrate in a way we’ve never celebrated before.
7. Follow-up Plans
I know this is a post about preparing for Easter, but we need to be ready with a plan on how we are going to follow-up with new comers, new conversions, people with questions, etc. Don’t wait until the day after Easter to come up with ideas on how to handle the follow ups needed. Plan now. Get a team in place. Create a system on how the follow-up will happen. And pray like mad. Pray for conversions. Pray for growth. Pray for God to open people’s hearts to the truth of His resurrection.
I hope you are able to take the time this Easter to pray and plan with a team in order to create a service that allows you and your congregation to celebrate our risen King.
