Pastor, Don’t Put Your (Easter) Eggs In the Wrong Basket.
Peak Attendance = Pressure: 90% of pastors say Easter is one of the year's most-attended Sundays
The ‘Easter Show’ Fails to Retain: ~85% of Easter service guests likely won't return for a second visit.
Connection Beats Production Value: Visitors who make 7 personal connections are 80% more likely to return.
Pastor, don’t attempt to impress this Easter service. God already did.
A few weeks after moving into my new upstairs office, I spent an afternoon going through old file drawers. I found more than forty folders labeled "Easter." Each one held about three pages of sermon notes, four or five pages of exegetical work, and more homiletical notes and annotations than I care to count.
The earlier the folder, the thicker it was.
How well I remember my first Easter morning sermon.
I was a mess. I put so much pressure on myself to preach the perfect sermon, and we as a church put so much pressure on ourselves to be the greatest show in the community that Sunday.
Want more from The Lead Pastor?
Sign up for a free membership to complete reading this article:
Have an account? Log In
What I realized way too late in my pastoral ministry is that the best way to celebrate Easter as a church is to be who you really are.
Ed Underwood
In my work as a coach and mentor to pastors and church leadership teams all over North America, I see it time and time again. We so quickly default to going for flashy and impressive, when deep and meaningful is far more important.
Choose Depth Over Production Value
Easter doesn’t need helicopters dropping Easter eggs, smoke and mirrors on stage, or celebrity testimonies. For many churches this Easter, success looks like auditoriums packed with curious visitors (many of whom will already saved) checking out the newest megachurch in their community. It's sad.
- 90% of pastors say Easter is top 3 highest attended service (Lifeway Research)
- Church Brand Guide research reports that 85% of first-time Easter guests do not return.
- First-time guests who form 7 personal connections during their initial visit are 80% more likely to return to that church.
Easter doesn’t need extra help.
Pastor, you do not need to take care of Easter. God already did that when He raised His Son from the dead.
Sincerely,
Ed Underwood
President of RecenteredGroup.com
Shepherd to Shepherds
