Whew! Easter is over for this year and everyone says it was a success. Perhaps you had more visitors this year than you have seen since 2018, or you had some of your “lost” sheep return – now what?
Don’t lose your Easter momentum! You need a plan to move forward and keep your congregation, returning members and visitors engaged and help them get in the habit of attending church again.
Ministry never stops. In fact, the season after Easter is prime time for reaching out. Families will be looking for fun, safe activities and places they can go that get them out of the house . These days, your community needs the hope your church can provide even more than ever.
And we are here to help. Here are two ideas and a few resources to help you keep engagement high into the summer months:
1. Plan a Powerful Sermon Series and See Easter Attenders Return
In a normal year, most churches start to wind down their ministry activities heading into summer as people go on vacation and attendance drops. But an April Easter still provides you with weeks of ministry before Memorial Day! So keep your momentum and put those weeks to good use by building up your ministry and connecting.
This year there are some great series that will not only connect visitors but will also increase the spiritual growth of your attendees as well: Consider these three options for May – all of these kits can be customized to fit your church and are licensed for use in person or online:
The Mother’s Day Celebration one-day event kit is designed to celebrate and inspire the women in your church who are Godly servants to their families. Featuring a fresh design and sermons based on the life of Mary the mother of Jesus, the digital kit includes videos, social media graphics and sermon slides so your whole service can be coordinated and professional.
This new 3-week sermon series is perfect for our times, addressing some of the hottest topics in our culture from a Biblical perspective:
• Week 1 – What Does Jesus Say about Racism • Week 2 – What Does Jesus Say about Politics • Week 3 – What Does Jesus Say about Religion
In a world that is increasingly divided, it is important that Christians allow Jesus to be their common denominator. This three-week series explores how Jesus shows us how to act and show love to the people around us – even when we don’t agree.
The digital kit includes sermons, videos, graphics for your website and social pages and slide templates. Just download and customize to fit your style and make it your own! Click here to watch a preview video about this kit.
2020 was a pretty stressful year and spending more time at home with our loved ones can make relationships more strained. That is where this relevant series can attract families.
This four-week series is perfect for the challenging times we live in with sermons on friction in families, marriage, finances and faith. And again, all the resources can be instantly downloaded so you can get started planning right away and they can be used online or in person!
Click here to watch a preview video about this kit.
TIP: Subscribe to the Outreach Church Kit and Video subscription service and get instant access to every church kit and video that Outreach offers – including the 2021 Back to Church Sunday and Advent kits!
2. Plan and Promote for Summer too!
Ministry doesn’t stop at Memorial Day – sure it may slow down some as school ends and families head out on vacation, but with some creative planning now, you can host some fun events during the summer that will engage families and perhaps bring in some visitors who are looking for fun, inexpensive activities.
- Plan a Movie Night – Purchase a public site license and invite your community to watch a film at your church. All you need is the license, some popcorn and drinks and you’re all set to go. Have some fun and get movie-theater style candy too.
- Offer morning or afternoon children’s programs one day a week to give parents a safe place to leave their children while they run errands, grab a cup of coffee or do chores.
- Host a Kid’s Camp or VBS program at least once during the summer and promote it in the neighborhoods around your church.
- Bring in a comedian or special guest speaker on a mid-week night once a month during the summer.
3. Invite Visitors to Attend
Finally, reach out to your community and invite them to return to Church – but give them options. Online services are not going away – in fact it’s become its own “campus” for many churches. But no matter how you hold services no one will come or watch if you don’t invite them to be part of your community.
Send a postcard invitation to homes around your church. Make sure it includes details about your sermon series, how to watch online or attend in person and provides an online link they can use to learn more. Postcards are a fast, effective way to grab attention in a digitally-weary world and they have staying power, so even if you don’t see numbers go up the first week, you may in the coming months as people feel more and more comfortable going out.
With a little investment, your church can see more post-Easter engagement and keep visitors into the summer months.
