Growing up as an Episcopalian, going to a Church service that was so mapped out and routine rarely left me excited about going each and every Sunday. Stand up, sit down, read this scripture, stand up, sit down, read another scripture, stand up, sit down, hear a Pastor read his sermon on what seemed to apply to everyone but me, stand up, sit down. It was as if I was be trained on proper standing and sitting procedures. If it was not for my friends, I don’t know how much I could have taken of that service. And this is coming from a teen who believed.
HOWEVER, on Christmas and Easter, I loved going to Church. It was different. For example, right after the procession into the Sanctuary on Easter, the Pastor got up to the front and would excitedly proclaim, “Hallelujah, Christ is risen!” And the congregation would shout back, “Hallelujah, He is risen indeed!” It was powerful. It was passionate. And with that exchange, it began what would be a whole service that was very different from every other Sunday during the year. As I look back on those services, I fondly remember them as we had every reason to celebrate and we did!
Over the course of my life, I have been to many churches and one thing I have noticed is that each Sunday looks very much the same week in and week out. Each Church has its own style and format, but in general, the service order for that Church looks the same from week to week. Now, don’t get me wrong – I find nothing wrong with this for the most part. But, what I am trying to say is that although that is ok for most Sundays, during Easter (and Christmas), that is not ok. In fact, if the Easter service looks and feels just like a “regular Sunday”, I believe that there is something wrong with what that particular Church is doing. Easter is different than most Sundays and needs to treated that way.
For starters, it different because it is 1 of the 2 key events we celebrate as followers of Christ. The first is the birth of Christ and the second is His resurrection. There are nothing ordinary about those 2 events therefore, there should be nothing ordinary about how we honor them in our lives and in our Church services. Change the routine a little bit and add a drama, a special choir or even some testimonies about the power of Christ in someone lives. By changing the “routine” and expectations, we open up the possibility of people experiencing Christ in a different way than they had before.
The second reason why Easter (and Christmas) needs to look different is because the amount of visitors you get. Let’s face it, the amount of visitors you get at Church on Christmas and Easter trump every other service for the whole year as there are some people who just come to Church on those two Sundays. Therefore, because of this and because 1st impressions are oftentimes the most memorable, we have to be on our “A” game. That means we have to make sure our Greeters, Welcome Team and regular attenders are on the ball looking for newcomers and making them feel welcomed and included.
Because Easter is such a huge celebration and visitor magnet, what happens at that service needs to be different than regular Sundays.
Some ways you can make Easter look different from a Youth Ministry perspective:
- Be more intentional about greeting and welcoming visitors. This is not to say that you have them stand up so people can greet them. Rather, have your welcome team be more alert and intentional about making visitors feel welcomed and cared for. Have a Youth Ministry Welcome Team that is specifically looking out for new youth who walk through the doors. As mentioned before, you get a lot of visitors who will only come to Church on Easter and Christmas only. They will usually just walk in the doors, sit down and then leave right after the service. But, if you can identify and engage those students in some sort of conversation, God might work in their life and be encouraged to come back on a regular Sunday.
- Try giving students a taste of your youth ministry program. This could be harder at traditional denominations, but why not break your youth ministry off during the middle of your service so that they can experience a little bit of what you do during your “youth group” time? It is hard enough to get newcomers to come out to Church, so to ask them to come back a few hours later for youth group is that extra step that newcomers won’t normally take. Because of this, bring youth group to them when you have them. By giving them a taste during the service, they don’t have to come back again later and, God willing, they might actually like what you are doing during “youth group” time and want to come back.
- Lastly, be EXCITED! Easter is NOT a regular Sunday so stop acting like it is. Christ IS RISEN which represents a hope and power that is not seen anywhere else. So, remind your students of the power and glory that comes with the resurrection of our Lord.
- Pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and discernment on what you can do, as the Youth Minister, during the Easter service to make an impact on those who attend.
- After you do this, write down things you could do beyond what you normally do during the Easter service so that the glory of the Lord can be revealed to all who come to Church then.