Why It's Not Too Early to Start Preparing for Easter (and How to Get Your Church Ready)

Easter is roughly three months away, so it might feel like January is too early to start preparing—especially since Christmas just ended. But, before you know it, Easter will be upon you, and you’ll feel like you’re way behind getting ready. 

Like Christmas, you and your church should expect to welcome an influx of new people. Some of your visitors will be new, and some of your visitors will be traditional Chreasters who only attend worship services during Christmas and Easter. Not only should you expect visitors, but, most importantly, you will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, this is an ideal opportunity for you to share the gospel and invite people to respond in faith to Jesus. 

Now, switching gears back to planning for Easter, we understand it can feel like a heavy burden when you think about EVERYTHING that needs to get done. To help alleviate your stress and to prepare for Easter, here are six things you need to do.

 #1. Get support

Do you have a member of your staff who can oversee Easter preparations? Is there a member of your church who can volunteer to take the lead? 

As a church leader, your primary focus is on preaching the gospel, teaching the Bible, discipling the members of your church, and equipping leaders. When preparing for Easter, administrative tasks can quickly occupy a significant portion of your time. So, you need to be prepared to delegate responsibilities and continue to focus on what only you can do.

 #2. Create a plan

The second thing you (or a member of your staff or volunteer) need to do is to create a plan. 

For your plan, first, write down your vision and objectives. 

How do you envision Easter at your church? 

Will you reach out to your community beforehand? 

Do you need to create a communication strategy? 

After you get everything out of your head and write it down on paper, you will begin to feel a release of pressure since you don’t have to think about everything.

#3. Keep Easter services simple

Easter is an ideal time to reach people with the gospel, and it’s also a time people like to spend with their family. You can balance both of these good desires by holding a brief family-friendly service.

To accommodate the needs of visitors and the members of your church, consider running a short worship service and allow children to participate with their parents (but think about providing nursery care for children two-years-old or younger). 

#4. Encourage your church to invite others

Challenge the members of your church to invite their neighbors and friends. Provide them with resources they can use to invite someone else, such as an invitation card easily. You can also create social media graphics and content the members of your church can use to share online with their network.

 #5. Prepare your website

Your church’s website is the new front door.

Most people will visit your church’s website way before they consider visiting your physical location. So, before Easter, you will want to make plans to prepare your website to lead visitors to your physical front door.

From making your website easy to use and creating great first impressions, there are several practical things you can do ahead of time. One of them may even be to ensure it's very easy for people to find your online giving page!

#6. Plan to follow up

Finally, plan on getting visitor information and following up with them after Easter. 

You will want to make sure you have information cards available, that you encourage people to provide their information, and even consider offering a gift for visitors, which will give you an opportunity to talk to people face-to-face. 

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How does your church prepare for Easter?

Share your experience in the comments below.