So how was your Easter? Was it a great celebration with church family and loved ones? To be sure, it’s a highlight of the year. Congregations everywhere are encouraged by the attendance, which usually rivals Christmas eve for the biggest numbers of the year.
But then there’s the next Sunday. Normality returns with a thud. But should it?
I’ve quoted Kennon Callahan before, who says that Christmas and Easter are God’s way of showing you your future. That is, the people who attend irregularly, but come to you at Christmas and Easter, may have great potential to attend your church more regularly. How are you reaching out to them?
To be sure, it’s a challenging time to grow the church. There are many other tantalizing things to do rather than worship God, so how can the church grow in that context?
There are many things that can be done, but a simple one is this: continue to invite your friends to worship. Some who came with you at Easter will accept another invitation. Why not make it a social engagement? Offer to take your guests out for coffee or lunch after worship. Cultivate the relationships.
Maybe the shoe is on the other foot: perhaps you are the guest who came with a friend last Sunday, or who has been encouraged to come to worship with a friend. Why not come this Sunday? Bamboozle your friends by asking to come to worship with them! You’ve experienced something that you’d like to experience again, so go for it!
Easter is something Christians celebrate all year. Each Sunday is a little celebration of the resurrection in community, and each day is a further celebration of Jesus being alive in us. Let it make a difference in your life today, and in your church this weekend.
“The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (John 20.20b, NIV).
Passionately His 