EVANGELISM
3 Ways to Make Evangelism a Growing Priority
by Greg Stier
3 Ways to Make Evangelism a Growing Priority
The more you seek to persuade them, the more your heart breaks for the lost.
I have a long way to go in the area of personal evangelism, but these three habits have helped me to make it a growing priority in my life. My prayer is that these practices will help you to do the same.
1. Ask for “Jesus eyes” consistently.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
Jesus saw people differently. He looked beyond the facade of smiling faces into the abyss beneath. He saw the swirling cauldron of hopelessness in the center of their souls, a cauldron that had been stirred by the finger of the Devil. As a result of his divine insight, his heart broke for the lost. They were like sheep without a shepherd, harassed by the demonic wolves circling them and helpless to their attacks.
What if every morning we asked God to give us the eyes of Jesus? What if we stopped to think about the hurts and scars in people’s lives and dared to allow ourselves to feel their pain? That’s exactly what the word “compassion” means. It means “to suffer with.” It is this empathy that gives us the impetus to open our lives to serve others (like Jesus modeled) and open our mouths to share the good news with others (like Jesus did.)
May we consistently pray to have the eyes of Jesus. As a result, may our hearts break for those who don’t yet know him.
2. Increase the evangelism word count.
What we talk about, we prioritize, and what we prioritize, we talk about. This is true of evangelism as well as sports.
For eight years of my life, I roofed with a group of guys who were huge fans of the Denver Broncos. I was a fan but not a “super fan” like my fellow construction workers. But a strange thing happened over the course of my roofing experience…I became a super fan. Why? Because we talked about the Broncos all the time! As a result of verbally reviewing and reliving the game over shingles on Mondays (or sometimes on Tuesdays), I became a die-hard Denver Broncos fan and still am one today (Go Tebow!)
What’s true in sports is true of evangelism. The more you talk about it the more you prioritize it. The more you swap stories about evangelism with your small group, youth group, Sunday school, or friends, the more important it becomes to you (Go Jesus!)
3. Go for it!
You get a heart for evangelism by getting a start in evangelism. The more you engage others with the good news, the more desperately you realize the need of those without the hope of Jesus.
Want to get a heart for cancer patients? Work with them! Want to get a heart for AIDs patients? Serve them! Whether it be orphans, widows, prisoners, or the poor, the best way to get a heart for someone is by engaging them personally.
The same is true of evangelism. When you go for it and relationally engage the lost with the hope of Jesus Christ, you can’t help but love them. The more you seek to persuade them, the more your heart breaks for them.
Just a few days ago, I saw two Mormon missionaries at a yogurt shop. I walked up to them and began to engage. My heart broke for these two very sincere young men. I began to imagine the pain that must be sizzling under their well-ironed shirts as they sought to earn their way into God’s graces through missionary work. I began to feel for them as I realized the pressure they must feel from family and friends to stay true to “the church” and to their convictions even when the original Testament of Jesus Christ (a.k.a. “The Bible”) seemed to contradict their man-made religious system at every turn. My heart broke for these two younger “elders.”
After a few minutes of admiring, asking, and admitting, I shared the gospel with them. They politely listened, shared a few thoughts, and said goodbye.
Those two young men are still on my heart. Although I don’t really know them, I love them, and I want them to know the hope of Jesus Christ.
God is making evangelism a growing priority in my life. He can do the same for you if you are willing to apply these three habits.
Share this:
Greg Stier Used with permission from Dare 2 Share Ministries. Dare 2 Share Ministries is committed to mobilizing teenagers to relationally and relentlessly reach their generation for Christ. Dare 2 Share’s youth evangelism training conferences, curriculum and books motivate and equip teenagers to share the gospel with their friends.
More from Greg Stier or visit Greg at www.dare2share.org
by Greg Stier
3 Ways to Make Evangelism a Growing Priority
The more you seek to persuade them, the more your heart breaks for the lost.
I have a long way to go in the area of personal evangelism, but these three habits have helped me to make it a growing priority in my life. My prayer is that these practices will help you to do the same.
1. Ask for “Jesus eyes” consistently.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
Jesus saw people differently. He looked beyond the facade of smiling faces into the abyss beneath. He saw the swirling cauldron of hopelessness in the center of their souls, a cauldron that had been stirred by the finger of the Devil. As a result of his divine insight, his heart broke for the lost. They were like sheep without a shepherd, harassed by the demonic wolves circling them and helpless to their attacks.
What if every morning we asked God to give us the eyes of Jesus? What if we stopped to think about the hurts and scars in people’s lives and dared to allow ourselves to feel their pain? That’s exactly what the word “compassion” means. It means “to suffer with.” It is this empathy that gives us the impetus to open our lives to serve others (like Jesus modeled) and open our mouths to share the good news with others (like Jesus did.)
May we consistently pray to have the eyes of Jesus. As a result, may our hearts break for those who don’t yet know him.
2. Increase the evangelism word count.
What we talk about, we prioritize, and what we prioritize, we talk about. This is true of evangelism as well as sports.
For eight years of my life, I roofed with a group of guys who were huge fans of the Denver Broncos. I was a fan but not a “super fan” like my fellow construction workers. But a strange thing happened over the course of my roofing experience…I became a super fan. Why? Because we talked about the Broncos all the time! As a result of verbally reviewing and reliving the game over shingles on Mondays (or sometimes on Tuesdays), I became a die-hard Denver Broncos fan and still am one today (Go Tebow!)
What’s true in sports is true of evangelism. The more you talk about it the more you prioritize it. The more you swap stories about evangelism with your small group, youth group, Sunday school, or friends, the more important it becomes to you (Go Jesus!)
3. Go for it!
You get a heart for evangelism by getting a start in evangelism. The more you engage others with the good news, the more desperately you realize the need of those without the hope of Jesus.
Want to get a heart for cancer patients? Work with them! Want to get a heart for AIDs patients? Serve them! Whether it be orphans, widows, prisoners, or the poor, the best way to get a heart for someone is by engaging them personally.
The same is true of evangelism. When you go for it and relationally engage the lost with the hope of Jesus Christ, you can’t help but love them. The more you seek to persuade them, the more your heart breaks for them.
Just a few days ago, I saw two Mormon missionaries at a yogurt shop. I walked up to them and began to engage. My heart broke for these two very sincere young men. I began to imagine the pain that must be sizzling under their well-ironed shirts as they sought to earn their way into God’s graces through missionary work. I began to feel for them as I realized the pressure they must feel from family and friends to stay true to “the church” and to their convictions even when the original Testament of Jesus Christ (a.k.a. “The Bible”) seemed to contradict their man-made religious system at every turn. My heart broke for these two younger “elders.”
After a few minutes of admiring, asking, and admitting, I shared the gospel with them. They politely listened, shared a few thoughts, and said goodbye.
Those two young men are still on my heart. Although I don’t really know them, I love them, and I want them to know the hope of Jesus Christ.
God is making evangelism a growing priority in my life. He can do the same for you if you are willing to apply these three habits.
Share this:
Greg Stier Used with permission from Dare 2 Share Ministries. Dare 2 Share Ministries is committed to mobilizing teenagers to relationally and relentlessly reach their generation for Christ. Dare 2 Share’s youth evangelism training conferences, curriculum and books motivate and equip teenagers to share the gospel with their friends.
More from Greg Stier or visit Greg at www.dare2share.org
40 Easter Outreach Ideas by Tamara Rice Provided by More from Outreach Magazine
Do You Believe in Rolling Stones?
The cross, colorful eggs, white lilies, and even chocolate bunny rabbits—several images have come to be associated with the Easter holiday. But for many, Christ’s empty tomb comes to mind, with the stone seal lying discarded, off to one side—the same stone experts tell us would have been immense, disc shaped, and rolled in front of the opening on a downward slope, so that while the tomb was relatively easy to seal, it would have taken the strength of many men, pushing against gravity, to remove it.
In his Bible commentary, Matthew Henry compared this stone to the weight of our sin, crushing Christ on the cross and holding Him to the penalty of death for three days in the grave. Until, as Scripture says, the earth literally moved, the ground shook, and an angel came from heaven to roll the stone back and expose the miracle of the Resurrection—Jesus’ physical body raised from the dead and absent from the grave.
It was, of course, no coincidence that the two Marys were there to witness the event at the tomb and later give testimony of the vacancy within, but why? Was it not just as miraculous for the women to see Christ alive in the flesh after His death? Why bother with the stone if He was already gone? What’s so important about seeing the empty tomb?
In a word, the answer may be proof— tangible evidence for the people of Jerusalem for decades to come. Physical evidence, if you will, demanding a verdict.
Seekers today don’t have the luxury of exploring Christ’s actual tomb and examining its inner walls for traces of the Truth. They are, in a sense, standing outside the vacant sepulcher, no knowledge of the miracle within, and a boulder of intimidation, doubts, and discomfort standing between them and Truth.
We can glory in our own celebration of the Resurrection this Easter season, or we can take a look around our neighborhoods, schools, and businesses to see who’s waiting outside the crypt for a glimpse of the miracle.
This year, push those boulders of fear and uncertainty aside. This spring, plan an outreach event that will leave your community eternally altered. This Easter Sunday, bring the unchurched face to face with the empty tomb, where they might just find the open door of heaven.
40 Easter Outreach Ideas
We’ve put together our biggest list of outreach ideas ever, and our hope is that this Easter Passion Week will be like none your church has ever seen.
While many of these ideas are effective platforms for sharing the Gospel, some are merely intended to familiarize unbelievers with your church and afford your worshippers the opportunity to tender an invitation to Easter Sunday services.
Palm Sunday
1. Palm Party Hold your children’s Easter outreach event on Palm Sunday and reenact the Triumphal Entry—complete with live donkey and palm branches—for a captive audience. Include egg decorating, games, and an Easter video or story for a celebration children are sure to remember.
2. Messianic “Haggadah” Encourage a churchwide celebration of the Seder or Messianic Haggadah in individual homes on Passover, which officially begins the previous day at sundown. Encourage host families to invite adventurous unchurched friends to share this special feast with them.
3. DaVinci’s “Last Supper” Reenactment Maundy Thursday (also called Holy Thursday) is traditionally remembered as the night Christ ate the Last Supper with His disciples. Attract art appreciators with an Easter drama of the scene, using Scripture as a script and DaVinci’s painting for costume and backdrop inspiration.
4. Maundy Prayer What better time to pray over your Easter outreach than the night of Holy Week associated with Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? Open your sanctuary, encouraging church members to come when they can and pray for your community.
5. Artists at the Foot of the Cross Create an atmosphere of experiential worship for postmodern seekers using both classical and contemporary art (projected on a screen), poetry (recited or projected on screen), and music to offer a glimpse of the crucifixion through the eyes of famous and not-so-famous artists in a candlelight service.
6. Artists at the Foot of the Cross Gallery Turn a gym or multipurpose room into a gallery of crucifixion art, poetry, and music created by church members of all ages as well as the unchurched in your community. (Be careful to note that the church reserves the right not to display gallery entries it deems inappropriate.)
7. “The Passion of the Christ” If your church hasn’t already brought unchurched friends to this powerful film, this is a great night to do it. For more ideas and ways to invite people, check out thepassionoutreach.com.
8. Jesus for Children Don’t overlook childcare while planning a Good Friday service—especially if you’ll be planning a trip to see “The Passion of the Christ.” To offer more than just babysitting, consider showing a depiction of the crucifixion story appropriate for children.
9. Spring Tea A traditional English tea party—especially one in a colorful garden—offers a brief escape for today’s busy women who would never, of their own volition, take the time to sit outside and enjoy a cup of tea and a crumpet. Throw in a speaker (with a topic general enough to appeal to a broad spectrum) or even live music, and you’ll have an event church women will feel confident inviting female friends to enjoy.
10. Easter “Bonnet” Benefit Organize a hat fashion show during a women’s brunch at the church, selling tickets in advance, with proceeds going to a local charity. Contact boutiques, stores, and antique malls in your area for the hat (older women in your congregation may have wonderful vintage hats to show off), and use women—young and old—in the church and community to model them.
11. Basket Decorating 101 Everybody—churched or unchurched—loves an Easter basket. Enlist an experienced basket decorator from your congregation or local craft store and host a basket decorating class, charging only for supplies.
12. Basket Benefit Collect Easter gift baskets from local businesses and church members for a silent auction at the church, benefiting a local charity. (Hint: Be sure to set a starting price for each basket).
13. “Easter Parade” Movie Night This Irving Berlin classic is a fun musical for Baby Boomers, seniors, and anyone who appreciates old black and white romance. Serve lemonade and popcorn and project it onto a big screen—outside if weather permits—and charge a nickel admission for some added nostalgia.
14. “Easter Parade” to Go Contact your local senior center, assisted living community, or convalescent hospital to see if your church can bring the “Easter Parade” movie, popcorn and lemonade to them, creating a special night of nostalgia.
15. “Messiah” Live Though Handel’s beautiful oratorio is typically reserved for the Christmas season, it does include the death and resurrection of Christ. Host an evening of live orchestra—from the community or church—and serve refreshments for participants and spectators alike.
16. Free Car Wash In the vein of servant evangelism, organize a car wash your community won’t soon forget, free of charge with no strings attached. Just leave a small Easter card with your church’s information in each clean vehicle.
17. Spring Makeover Organize a crack team of handymen (and women) to tackle a run-down building in your community. Be sure it’s a selfless task that benefits those “outside” the Kingdom. Get the proper permission, permits, and supplies and have fun.
18. Spring Paint Showers Find a public school in need of an external makeover and gather a team of volunteers from your congregation to paint it or plant a new garden. Contact the school or school board in advance for permission and allow the principal to pick the colors.
19. Spring Festival Think Harvest Festival, only with an Easter flare. Instead of bobbing for apples, hunt blindfolded for eggs. Instead of carving pumpkins, make floral wreaths. Open it up to the community and make it an annual Easter week event.
20. Child Egg Decorating Host an Easter party for children complete with eggs (and dyes to paint them), chocolate bunnies, and a fun, age-appropriate video to share the Gospel. Encourage kids to bring their unchurched friends. (Hint: This is the perfect event to pair with the Spring Tea or other women’s event, since it eliminates the need for baby sitters.)
21. Blooming Art Enlist a gifted congregation member or local florist to teach flower arranging at church. Charge to cover supplies but encourage participants to bring their own vase, apron, and garden clippers. Don’t forget to advertise at local nurseries, farmer’s markets, and craft stores.
22. Pictures Say a Thousand Words Enlist a photographer in your church—or from the community—then advertise a free or discounted photo shoot to families in your area. Set up a spring backdrop with props like flowered hats and baskets.
23. Spring Sports Competition Organize a friendly softball or flag football game at a local park, encouraging church members to bring friends and coworkers to play and watch. Hang a large banner to mark the spot—be sure it contains your church name and Easter service times.
24. Community Easter Egg Hunt Sponsor a community-wide Easter egg hunt in a local park. Be sure to advertise an age limit and ask parents to bring a dozen eggs (real or candy-filled) for each participating child. Play music and serve lemonade to the adults and rent a bunny costume for your resident church “clown.”
25. Walk, Don’t Run Organize a walk-a-thon benefiting a local charity with a course that begins and ends at the church and can be completed by people of all ages. Invite the community to participate and set up refreshment stations along the way.
26. Spring Clean Sale Use door hangers in local neighborhoods suggesting community-wide “spring closet cleaning” and offering to collect items for a sale benefiting a local charity. Send church members with trucks to gather the goods, then hold the sale in the church parking lot. Place a card with Easter service times in each bag of goods you sell.
Easter Sunday, April 24
27. Sunrise Service Plan an outdoor sunrise worship service if weather permits. Recreate the scene outside the tomb as a backdrop, using papier-mâché and paint to make the stone. Ask several teens from the church to dress as the guards, the women, and the angel to reenact the scene.
28. Pancake Breakfast Cook up a pancake breakfast immediately following your sunrise service or preceding your morning service, feeding your visitors free of charge and creating a welcoming, family atmosphere where new friendships can bloom over pancakes and coffee.
29. The Testimonial Cross Build or purchase a large wooden cross and place it at the front of the sanctuary—either lying across the platform steps or leaning against the wall. Early in your Easter service, explain its significance as a reminder that the God we serve is no longer on His cross; He is alive.
30. Sunday School Eggs Plan and prepare with baskets and eggs to have an egg hunt for the children during Sunday school. Among the candy-filled eggs, prepare 12 plastic eggs that will aid teachers in telling the story of Jesus. Place each of the following items in an egg: leaf (palm branches at Triumphal Entry), bread crumb (bread at Last Supper), communion cup (wine at Last Supper), dimes (Judas’ silver), stem with thorns (crown of thorns), wood (cross), three nails (nails in the cross), piece of a sponge (vinegar given to Jesus), piece of red cloth (Jesus’ garment), piece of white cloth (burial garment), rock (the stone), and cotton ball (clouds at the Ascension).
31. Easter Lily Delivery Weeks before Easter, give church members the opportunity to “sponsor” an Easter lily by paying for the cost of one and signing a pre-printed Easter card for each. Purchase the lilies from a local garden center or florist the day before your Easter service then use them to decorate your facility. Sunday afternoon, have volunteers transport the flowers to residents at a convalescent hospital or assisted-living facility.
32. Baskets of Love In the weeks leading up to Easter, invite your congregation to donate canned goods and necessary toiletries for the less fortunate in your community, then organize a team of volunteers to place the donated items in Easter baskets and promptly deliver them to the families in need.
33. Easter Feasts Create a list of the necessary ingredients for several delicious Easter lunches, like ham and potatoes or roast chicken. Ask families in the congregation to sign up to buy particular items or cook the food, then bring the meal to the church kitchen Easter morning. Volunteers can organize the food, place completed meals in baskets, and deliver them to a few needy families in your community.
34. The Worth of a Child Never dismiss the power of a children’s musical or drama. Not only are children remarkably capable of presenting the Gospel in a compelling way, but parents, grandparents and friends who might otherwise never set foot in a church will come with cameras and flowers for a beloved child on stage.
35. Forget-Me-Nots Since your church is likely to have more visitors on this special Sunday than a usual weekend, be sure they don’t leave empty-handed. Purchase plenty of books or small gifts to pass out at the door as they leave.
36. Forget-Me-Nots for Kids Don’t overlook special gifts for visiting children on Easter Sunday, and don’t settle for candy that will be eaten before they reach the parking lot. Give each something small, age-appropriate, and relevant to the Easter celebration.
37. Easter Service to Go Organize a team from church to bring an Easter service to a convalescent hospital or local mission, complete with worship and a speaker. Consult management in advance to establish details like sound equipment and service length.
38. Concert at the Park If weather permits, hold a family-oriented concert in a local park during the afternoon or evening on Easter. If you don’t have the resources or talent for entertainment, advertise thoroughly, charge a small fee, and hire a band. Be sure to obtain the proper permits and attempt to get the blessing of the surrounding neighbors.
Miscellaneous Easter Ideas
39. Easter Evangelism Cards Have special cards—maybe even egg or cross shaped— professionally made to hand out at your outreach event. The card should include your church contact information and service times, but you might also consider adding a verse, a prayer, or the (brief) plan of salvation. (Hint: Make them general enough to be used again next Easter.)
40. Celebrity Advantage No matter what kind of event you organize this Easter, having a high-profile Christian participate in some headlining way—as narrator, emcee, entertainment, etc.—will increase your response. Local figures like the mayor, the football star, or even the local news anchor are great options if your church doesn’t have the resources to bring in a well-known celebrity.
Getting People There
Drawing the unchurched to your event is obviously the key that makes or breaks its capacity for outreach. For a successful word-of-mouth campaign, you can provide your members with business card-sized event invitations to give to friends, but we also recommend taking steps to attract a broader scope of your community by placing a banner in front of the church, sending a bulk mailing, or canvassing neighborhoods with door hangers.
And if your resources don’t allow for a bulk mailing, post fliers on bulletin boards in schools, grocery stores, libraries, laundromats, or other appropriate public places in your community.
Remember, however, no matter how you choose to advertise your event, the best and the most successful invitation is a personal one.
Do You Believe in Rolling Stones?
The cross, colorful eggs, white lilies, and even chocolate bunny rabbits—several images have come to be associated with the Easter holiday. But for many, Christ’s empty tomb comes to mind, with the stone seal lying discarded, off to one side—the same stone experts tell us would have been immense, disc shaped, and rolled in front of the opening on a downward slope, so that while the tomb was relatively easy to seal, it would have taken the strength of many men, pushing against gravity, to remove it.
In his Bible commentary, Matthew Henry compared this stone to the weight of our sin, crushing Christ on the cross and holding Him to the penalty of death for three days in the grave. Until, as Scripture says, the earth literally moved, the ground shook, and an angel came from heaven to roll the stone back and expose the miracle of the Resurrection—Jesus’ physical body raised from the dead and absent from the grave.
It was, of course, no coincidence that the two Marys were there to witness the event at the tomb and later give testimony of the vacancy within, but why? Was it not just as miraculous for the women to see Christ alive in the flesh after His death? Why bother with the stone if He was already gone? What’s so important about seeing the empty tomb?
In a word, the answer may be proof— tangible evidence for the people of Jerusalem for decades to come. Physical evidence, if you will, demanding a verdict.
Seekers today don’t have the luxury of exploring Christ’s actual tomb and examining its inner walls for traces of the Truth. They are, in a sense, standing outside the vacant sepulcher, no knowledge of the miracle within, and a boulder of intimidation, doubts, and discomfort standing between them and Truth.
We can glory in our own celebration of the Resurrection this Easter season, or we can take a look around our neighborhoods, schools, and businesses to see who’s waiting outside the crypt for a glimpse of the miracle.
This year, push those boulders of fear and uncertainty aside. This spring, plan an outreach event that will leave your community eternally altered. This Easter Sunday, bring the unchurched face to face with the empty tomb, where they might just find the open door of heaven.
40 Easter Outreach Ideas
We’ve put together our biggest list of outreach ideas ever, and our hope is that this Easter Passion Week will be like none your church has ever seen.
While many of these ideas are effective platforms for sharing the Gospel, some are merely intended to familiarize unbelievers with your church and afford your worshippers the opportunity to tender an invitation to Easter Sunday services.
Palm Sunday
1. Palm Party Hold your children’s Easter outreach event on Palm Sunday and reenact the Triumphal Entry—complete with live donkey and palm branches—for a captive audience. Include egg decorating, games, and an Easter video or story for a celebration children are sure to remember.
2. Messianic “Haggadah” Encourage a churchwide celebration of the Seder or Messianic Haggadah in individual homes on Passover, which officially begins the previous day at sundown. Encourage host families to invite adventurous unchurched friends to share this special feast with them.
3. DaVinci’s “Last Supper” Reenactment Maundy Thursday (also called Holy Thursday) is traditionally remembered as the night Christ ate the Last Supper with His disciples. Attract art appreciators with an Easter drama of the scene, using Scripture as a script and DaVinci’s painting for costume and backdrop inspiration.
4. Maundy Prayer What better time to pray over your Easter outreach than the night of Holy Week associated with Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? Open your sanctuary, encouraging church members to come when they can and pray for your community.
5. Artists at the Foot of the Cross Create an atmosphere of experiential worship for postmodern seekers using both classical and contemporary art (projected on a screen), poetry (recited or projected on screen), and music to offer a glimpse of the crucifixion through the eyes of famous and not-so-famous artists in a candlelight service.
6. Artists at the Foot of the Cross Gallery Turn a gym or multipurpose room into a gallery of crucifixion art, poetry, and music created by church members of all ages as well as the unchurched in your community. (Be careful to note that the church reserves the right not to display gallery entries it deems inappropriate.)
7. “The Passion of the Christ” If your church hasn’t already brought unchurched friends to this powerful film, this is a great night to do it. For more ideas and ways to invite people, check out thepassionoutreach.com.
8. Jesus for Children Don’t overlook childcare while planning a Good Friday service—especially if you’ll be planning a trip to see “The Passion of the Christ.” To offer more than just babysitting, consider showing a depiction of the crucifixion story appropriate for children.
9. Spring Tea A traditional English tea party—especially one in a colorful garden—offers a brief escape for today’s busy women who would never, of their own volition, take the time to sit outside and enjoy a cup of tea and a crumpet. Throw in a speaker (with a topic general enough to appeal to a broad spectrum) or even live music, and you’ll have an event church women will feel confident inviting female friends to enjoy.
10. Easter “Bonnet” Benefit Organize a hat fashion show during a women’s brunch at the church, selling tickets in advance, with proceeds going to a local charity. Contact boutiques, stores, and antique malls in your area for the hat (older women in your congregation may have wonderful vintage hats to show off), and use women—young and old—in the church and community to model them.
11. Basket Decorating 101 Everybody—churched or unchurched—loves an Easter basket. Enlist an experienced basket decorator from your congregation or local craft store and host a basket decorating class, charging only for supplies.
12. Basket Benefit Collect Easter gift baskets from local businesses and church members for a silent auction at the church, benefiting a local charity. (Hint: Be sure to set a starting price for each basket).
13. “Easter Parade” Movie Night This Irving Berlin classic is a fun musical for Baby Boomers, seniors, and anyone who appreciates old black and white romance. Serve lemonade and popcorn and project it onto a big screen—outside if weather permits—and charge a nickel admission for some added nostalgia.
14. “Easter Parade” to Go Contact your local senior center, assisted living community, or convalescent hospital to see if your church can bring the “Easter Parade” movie, popcorn and lemonade to them, creating a special night of nostalgia.
15. “Messiah” Live Though Handel’s beautiful oratorio is typically reserved for the Christmas season, it does include the death and resurrection of Christ. Host an evening of live orchestra—from the community or church—and serve refreshments for participants and spectators alike.
16. Free Car Wash In the vein of servant evangelism, organize a car wash your community won’t soon forget, free of charge with no strings attached. Just leave a small Easter card with your church’s information in each clean vehicle.
17. Spring Makeover Organize a crack team of handymen (and women) to tackle a run-down building in your community. Be sure it’s a selfless task that benefits those “outside” the Kingdom. Get the proper permission, permits, and supplies and have fun.
18. Spring Paint Showers Find a public school in need of an external makeover and gather a team of volunteers from your congregation to paint it or plant a new garden. Contact the school or school board in advance for permission and allow the principal to pick the colors.
19. Spring Festival Think Harvest Festival, only with an Easter flare. Instead of bobbing for apples, hunt blindfolded for eggs. Instead of carving pumpkins, make floral wreaths. Open it up to the community and make it an annual Easter week event.
20. Child Egg Decorating Host an Easter party for children complete with eggs (and dyes to paint them), chocolate bunnies, and a fun, age-appropriate video to share the Gospel. Encourage kids to bring their unchurched friends. (Hint: This is the perfect event to pair with the Spring Tea or other women’s event, since it eliminates the need for baby sitters.)
21. Blooming Art Enlist a gifted congregation member or local florist to teach flower arranging at church. Charge to cover supplies but encourage participants to bring their own vase, apron, and garden clippers. Don’t forget to advertise at local nurseries, farmer’s markets, and craft stores.
22. Pictures Say a Thousand Words Enlist a photographer in your church—or from the community—then advertise a free or discounted photo shoot to families in your area. Set up a spring backdrop with props like flowered hats and baskets.
23. Spring Sports Competition Organize a friendly softball or flag football game at a local park, encouraging church members to bring friends and coworkers to play and watch. Hang a large banner to mark the spot—be sure it contains your church name and Easter service times.
24. Community Easter Egg Hunt Sponsor a community-wide Easter egg hunt in a local park. Be sure to advertise an age limit and ask parents to bring a dozen eggs (real or candy-filled) for each participating child. Play music and serve lemonade to the adults and rent a bunny costume for your resident church “clown.”
25. Walk, Don’t Run Organize a walk-a-thon benefiting a local charity with a course that begins and ends at the church and can be completed by people of all ages. Invite the community to participate and set up refreshment stations along the way.
26. Spring Clean Sale Use door hangers in local neighborhoods suggesting community-wide “spring closet cleaning” and offering to collect items for a sale benefiting a local charity. Send church members with trucks to gather the goods, then hold the sale in the church parking lot. Place a card with Easter service times in each bag of goods you sell.
Easter Sunday, April 24
27. Sunrise Service Plan an outdoor sunrise worship service if weather permits. Recreate the scene outside the tomb as a backdrop, using papier-mâché and paint to make the stone. Ask several teens from the church to dress as the guards, the women, and the angel to reenact the scene.
28. Pancake Breakfast Cook up a pancake breakfast immediately following your sunrise service or preceding your morning service, feeding your visitors free of charge and creating a welcoming, family atmosphere where new friendships can bloom over pancakes and coffee.
29. The Testimonial Cross Build or purchase a large wooden cross and place it at the front of the sanctuary—either lying across the platform steps or leaning against the wall. Early in your Easter service, explain its significance as a reminder that the God we serve is no longer on His cross; He is alive.
30. Sunday School Eggs Plan and prepare with baskets and eggs to have an egg hunt for the children during Sunday school. Among the candy-filled eggs, prepare 12 plastic eggs that will aid teachers in telling the story of Jesus. Place each of the following items in an egg: leaf (palm branches at Triumphal Entry), bread crumb (bread at Last Supper), communion cup (wine at Last Supper), dimes (Judas’ silver), stem with thorns (crown of thorns), wood (cross), three nails (nails in the cross), piece of a sponge (vinegar given to Jesus), piece of red cloth (Jesus’ garment), piece of white cloth (burial garment), rock (the stone), and cotton ball (clouds at the Ascension).
31. Easter Lily Delivery Weeks before Easter, give church members the opportunity to “sponsor” an Easter lily by paying for the cost of one and signing a pre-printed Easter card for each. Purchase the lilies from a local garden center or florist the day before your Easter service then use them to decorate your facility. Sunday afternoon, have volunteers transport the flowers to residents at a convalescent hospital or assisted-living facility.
32. Baskets of Love In the weeks leading up to Easter, invite your congregation to donate canned goods and necessary toiletries for the less fortunate in your community, then organize a team of volunteers to place the donated items in Easter baskets and promptly deliver them to the families in need.
33. Easter Feasts Create a list of the necessary ingredients for several delicious Easter lunches, like ham and potatoes or roast chicken. Ask families in the congregation to sign up to buy particular items or cook the food, then bring the meal to the church kitchen Easter morning. Volunteers can organize the food, place completed meals in baskets, and deliver them to a few needy families in your community.
34. The Worth of a Child Never dismiss the power of a children’s musical or drama. Not only are children remarkably capable of presenting the Gospel in a compelling way, but parents, grandparents and friends who might otherwise never set foot in a church will come with cameras and flowers for a beloved child on stage.
35. Forget-Me-Nots Since your church is likely to have more visitors on this special Sunday than a usual weekend, be sure they don’t leave empty-handed. Purchase plenty of books or small gifts to pass out at the door as they leave.
36. Forget-Me-Nots for Kids Don’t overlook special gifts for visiting children on Easter Sunday, and don’t settle for candy that will be eaten before they reach the parking lot. Give each something small, age-appropriate, and relevant to the Easter celebration.
37. Easter Service to Go Organize a team from church to bring an Easter service to a convalescent hospital or local mission, complete with worship and a speaker. Consult management in advance to establish details like sound equipment and service length.
38. Concert at the Park If weather permits, hold a family-oriented concert in a local park during the afternoon or evening on Easter. If you don’t have the resources or talent for entertainment, advertise thoroughly, charge a small fee, and hire a band. Be sure to obtain the proper permits and attempt to get the blessing of the surrounding neighbors.
Miscellaneous Easter Ideas
39. Easter Evangelism Cards Have special cards—maybe even egg or cross shaped— professionally made to hand out at your outreach event. The card should include your church contact information and service times, but you might also consider adding a verse, a prayer, or the (brief) plan of salvation. (Hint: Make them general enough to be used again next Easter.)
40. Celebrity Advantage No matter what kind of event you organize this Easter, having a high-profile Christian participate in some headlining way—as narrator, emcee, entertainment, etc.—will increase your response. Local figures like the mayor, the football star, or even the local news anchor are great options if your church doesn’t have the resources to bring in a well-known celebrity.
Getting People There
Drawing the unchurched to your event is obviously the key that makes or breaks its capacity for outreach. For a successful word-of-mouth campaign, you can provide your members with business card-sized event invitations to give to friends, but we also recommend taking steps to attract a broader scope of your community by placing a banner in front of the church, sending a bulk mailing, or canvassing neighborhoods with door hangers.
And if your resources don’t allow for a bulk mailing, post fliers on bulletin boards in schools, grocery stores, libraries, laundromats, or other appropriate public places in your community.
Remember, however, no matter how you choose to advertise your event, the best and the most successful invitation is a personal one.
How to Motivate Others to Bear Fruit by Mark Altrogge Show them his mighty power to save and transform.
How do we motivate others to bear fruit?
How can a parent motivate their children to be holy or care for others? How can pastors motivate their flocks to worship God and serve others? How can we stir others to love and good deeds? By telling them to just do it? By telling them to go out and put your nose to the grindstone and bear some fruit? Come on, get your hundred-pound Christian backpack on and start grinding out that hundred-mile hike to heaven.
The best way to motivate others is to display Christ’s glory to them. Show them his mighty power to save and transform. Show them his sympathy and compassion to help them in their struggles and suffering. I love this quote by T. David Gordon in Why Johnny Can’t Preach:
I believe that as people’s confidence in Christ grows, they do, ordinarily and inevitably, bear fruit that accords with faith. Thus, there is no need for some trade-off here or some alleged dichotomy suggesting that we need to preach morality if we are to have morality. No, preach Christ, and you will have morality. Fill the sails of your hearers’ souls with the wind of confidence in the Redeemer, and they will trust him as their Sanctifier and long to see his fruit in their lives. Fill their minds and imaginations with a vision of the loveliness and perfection of Christ in his person, and the flock will long to be like him. Impress upon their weak and wavering hearts the utter competence of the mediation of the One who ever lives to make intercession for them, and they will long to serve and comfort others, even as Christ has served and comforted them.
I read somewhere that the best way to motivate our teens is to dazzle them with Christ. The best way to defeat the allure of the world is to show folks something more alluring, more beautiful, more delightful – Jesus Christ in all his glory.
Not only does the glory of Christ motivate others to bear fruit – it motivates and stirs us as well!
Share this: Mark Altrogge is the original triple threat: singer, songwriter, pastor. He has been the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, PA for over 25 years, and is the author of many well known worship songs such as “I Stand In Awe”, and “In The Presence”. When not pastoring or writing songs, Mark can be found consuming vast quantities of coffee. Unfortunately, Mark is not particularly gifted in the area of athletics.
How do we motivate others to bear fruit?
How can a parent motivate their children to be holy or care for others? How can pastors motivate their flocks to worship God and serve others? How can we stir others to love and good deeds? By telling them to just do it? By telling them to go out and put your nose to the grindstone and bear some fruit? Come on, get your hundred-pound Christian backpack on and start grinding out that hundred-mile hike to heaven.
The best way to motivate others is to display Christ’s glory to them. Show them his mighty power to save and transform. Show them his sympathy and compassion to help them in their struggles and suffering. I love this quote by T. David Gordon in Why Johnny Can’t Preach:
I believe that as people’s confidence in Christ grows, they do, ordinarily and inevitably, bear fruit that accords with faith. Thus, there is no need for some trade-off here or some alleged dichotomy suggesting that we need to preach morality if we are to have morality. No, preach Christ, and you will have morality. Fill the sails of your hearers’ souls with the wind of confidence in the Redeemer, and they will trust him as their Sanctifier and long to see his fruit in their lives. Fill their minds and imaginations with a vision of the loveliness and perfection of Christ in his person, and the flock will long to be like him. Impress upon their weak and wavering hearts the utter competence of the mediation of the One who ever lives to make intercession for them, and they will long to serve and comfort others, even as Christ has served and comforted them.
I read somewhere that the best way to motivate our teens is to dazzle them with Christ. The best way to defeat the allure of the world is to show folks something more alluring, more beautiful, more delightful – Jesus Christ in all his glory.
Not only does the glory of Christ motivate others to bear fruit – it motivates and stirs us as well!
Share this: Mark Altrogge is the original triple threat: singer, songwriter, pastor. He has been the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, PA for over 25 years, and is the author of many well known worship songs such as “I Stand In Awe”, and “In The Presence”. When not pastoring or writing songs, Mark can be found consuming vast quantities of coffee. Unfortunately, Mark is not particularly gifted in the area of athletics.