Ministry Monday: Easter Services
First I want to say, what an honor it is to serve the Lord our God. As ministry wives, I know you not only work hard throughout the week in your daily life, but you are often on your knees praying for your spouse, loved ones, church family and communities. Do not every forget, a grain of mustard seed is truly all you need. As we roll into Easter, only 5 weeks away, a true heartfelt service of worship to our Lord and Savior is more than sufficient. This post is not to say services have to be dolled up or done a certain way to be “good” or more “popular”, that is just not true. However, I do know from experience, it is nice to change up the services from time to time for various reasons. Sometimes, because your church is growing and there is more opportunity for people to serve, that really want to serve. Praise the Lord! Easter is one special service that you may have visitors or seek to bring in visitors for just a service. Here are a few ideas that can be simple as is or modified to be as elaborate as you desire. (Brought to and approved with Pastor of course.)
Ministry Monday: Easter Services, 10 Ideas For a Great Easter Service
Easter Services, #1 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
1. Refreshments- What a great way to have beautiful fellowship with new visitors, old friends and your brothers and sisters in the Lord. Coffee, teas, cocoas, juice, milk, etc for beverages and all sorts of options from muffins, scones, breads, cookies, cinnamon rolls, donuts, and fruit platters are just a few. (Fruit Kabobs on the stick is extra awesome on the cleanliness part.) Whether it is something new altogether or you add a special twist to something that already exists, refreshments are a great addition to the service.
Easter Services, #2 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
2. A Special- Another simple way to enhance a service is by adding an extra special. Whether instrumental, a choir piece, a select group, solo or a adorable little children’s group; music is a great way to bring more meaning to your service. Many services already have special music, so this could be something unique or different. Now you may automatically think music, like myself; however, do not forget you could place a poem reading, a visual skit, a beautiful testimony from a guest (perhaps someone you know or yourself & already planned/prepared.) A special can come in a variety of ways. A few more ideas: sign language to a song special, and extra instrument to the piano hymns, and etc.
Easter Services, #3 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
3. A Children’s program- Whether this is a short verse reading, to music, a skit, or an elaborate display; a children’s program is sure to enhance your Easter Service.
Easter Services, #4 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
4. After church fun- What a great way to encourage families to be in the house of the Lord! This does not have to be an “Easter Egg Hunt”. A scavenger hunt works great for kids of all ages, a treasure hunt, yard games (if it is nice where you live) or some indoor minute to win it games are fabulous as well. Keeping the kids active and happy allows wonderful fellowship with families and visitors. A great time and way to encourage return guests! Be sure to include planned after church fun. (It can be so simple to a complex breakdown of ages and activities.)
Easter Services, #5 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
5. Church Family Breakfast- Always a great turnout when we host a family style church breakfast. Again, this can as simple or elaborate as you desire. Our go to for feeding a crowd is pancakes, eggs, biscuits & gravy, sausage and bacon, and fruit parfaits. It is work, but with a bit of planning it can be simple, effective and many hands make light work too. Church Family Breakfast is a win win!
Easter Services, #6 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
6. Decorating- I did not put this at the top because many churches decorate. However, if your church has a budget, I highly recommend extra decoration. By that I mean, everyone is usually dressed up a bit extra on Easter at our church. You see mother’s and father’s with the kids all neat and in a row. Why not place a couple photo ops around the church if it is in the budget. Over the course of the years, serving the Lord we have a bunch of pictures of the kids. However, we did not take loads of pictures at the churches we served in well, because most of the time we were too busy to think of it. Life is busy. I love setting up photo areas for families and all those that come to the house of the Lord. What a great keepsake. If you have beautiful weather, this could just be a small bench in your church yard. It really can be whatever you make it, but it is sure to be a blessing if you have a few great photo places on Easter Sunday. (And yes, perhaps this is more for the smaller churches where space is tight, but ideas beget ideas, so consider photo backgrounds or areas at all your upcoming special services, it’s a great addition.)
Easter Services, #7 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
7. Community Outreach- The next few require a bit more preparation, but will not disappoint. A few weeks prior, start inviting families to your Easter service. Perhaps if you are planning something special, make a flyer. Advertise in your local paper a few weeks in a row for Easter and reach out to your community. Some churches have even been able to partner with a local food pantry to deliver grocery bags of food with flyers stapled to the front. (In exchange for volunteers.) But reaching out is going to be noticed, and will encourage attendance.
Easter Services, #8 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
8. A cantata- With several weeks to practice, Easter music is sure to be enjoyed by all. If you are a small church, it may even be possible to have a group or choir come in and sing. A blessing indeed.
Easter Services, #9 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
9. Sunrise services- Having a service at a different time can be difficult if the word is not out in advanced, but in preparation, can be a great approach to enjoy your Easter Services. Instead of having traditional service or in addition to services, a early morning sunrise service is a great start to a special Sunday. It could be at your traditional location or in another location altogether. It could also be followed by refreshments, breakfast and/or regular services.
Easter Services, #10 (of 10) Ideas For a Great Easter Service (Resurrection Sunday)
10. Last, but not least, a BBQ & Treasure hunt- Food, fellowship and beautiful families after a great service; what could be better? Seriously! What a great way to host a community gathering and a day that is already special. I said BBQ because so many moms already have fifty things their cooking, why not keep it simple but amazing? The church provides the BBQ or (Smoked meat-Pulled pork in our case) and each family brings a side. Have a sign up sheet if you are worried about food, otherwise what a wonderful way to make a special Sunday even more beautiful! Some churches prefer the bounce houses, crafts, face painting and whole works. Others have made things simple with a potluck style meal and a beautiful hymn sing after. This is where you know your church best.
I hope these (10) simple ideas for a Great Resurrection Sunday Service were able to help get your mind rolling on more ideas for a fruitful, yet beautiful Sunday service for our Risen Savior. Have a wonderful day!
Happy Ministry Monday!