Easter isn’t an event

easter bunnyIt’s that time of year where flip the calendar with a big gasp…Easter is a few weeks away! What are we going to do, must be big…you know the story. Too often we approach Easter as an event. We take that one Sunday and pull out all the stops and make a big splash only to go back to business as usually within a week. We are upset, and even complain, that people only come out on Easter and Mother’s day but I ask…

What are you doing to stop the trend?

Instead of a one hit wonder, what about using Easter as a launch pad to a new, engaging series that will bring them back for more? I absolutely want you to share the hope of Easter, I want you to serve those that are attending, but I urge you to capture that audience and break the trend of once-a-year Christians.

And here’s good news : it’s not too late.

Even if you are having a one time Easter message, take some time that Sunday to introduce what’s happening the very next Sunday. I’m not talking about a mention of “join us next Sunday as we…” no, no, no…go big. Use drama, use video, use visuals, use props, give them something to take home…push it all the way to the edge.

Do you need help, let’s talk! Already have something in the works, tell us about it!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 11:18 am and is filed under holy cow . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • bjl050402

    We’re launching a series called Inked on Easter Sunday. Basically, it’s about being marked for Christ.

  • http://www.holycowcreative.org holycow

    Looks good. I noticed you mentioned over at the church marketing lab that you still see a drop off. Do you capture any of the audience? Maybe this year you could announce, on Easter Sunday, to come back as we continue the series and actually experience someone being ‘inked’ live? Or some sort of cliffhanger.

  • http://www.my5thyear.com JimmyD

    The No Marketing Campaign

    I have a son. He is two. Before him I never noticed signs for things like easter egg hunts. But yesterday I did. I took my son to a church I pass a thousand times on my way to work for an easter egg hunt. We lined up on the starting line. I was holding his hand, he was holding the basket (don’t worry we practiced at home). The countdown, the excitement, the fun, the stumbles, the eggs, the candy, the sound of children laughing with candy in their mouth and parents taking pictures.

    I drove home and realized that neither the senior pastor or the children’s pastor made any announcements or passed out literature about their church. I half expected to have invite cards placed inside of the eggs.

    But nothing. Nothing.

    I was surprised and refreshed. I know that marketing is important. It was my degree in college. I know church is important. It is now my profession now. Was the pastor missing an opportunity?

    I don’t know the name of the church but I have a feeling and a memory from that place (pictures too). I guess my thinking is that as people who have the greatest message in the world, we should say it in the greatest way and also embrace life. If life is about just getting people to the next great thing/message, maybe we have missed what we are actually here to do.

    Live (and the get up and do it all over again).

  • http://www.holycowcreative.org holycow

    I think it’s great that they didn’t knock you over the head with it…but let’s say you went to this easter egg hunt, had a great time, enjoyed the people and then woke up Easter morning but didn’t have a church to go to.

    If they had put just a small amount of effort to let you know that they’d love to see you on Sunday…guess where’d you be Easter morning? That’s not to say every event and outreach has to be marketing driven, but why not at least let people know where to find you?

    Remember marketing isn’t slick advertising, it’s simply effective communication.