Practical Ways to Prep for Easter
Like death, taxes, and Nickelback, Easter is a reality. The good news is it’s a better reality than those other three examples (let’s face it: atrocious pop music and the cornerstone of Christianity don’t mix).
Hopefully you’re preparing your church for the celebration: services are being planned, worship is being rehearsed, and sermons are being crafted. But how is your volunteer prep coming? Here are eight practical ways to get there:
Talk it up. Don’t rely on all-church stage announcements. Talk to your volunteer teams about what’s coming, service additions, and how they can help. Start now. There are four weekends between now and then, and you should have an Easter-related conversation in every one.
Remind them of the win. Statistically, your church will have more lost people in the crowd than any other weekend of the year (with the possible exception of Christmas Eve). Don’t let your team lose sight of that.
Go big. Easter is not the time to get minimal. I believe that you can never have too many volunteers. So dream a little. If vol numbers weren’t an issue, where would you add teams? Where would you add value for your guests?
Consider a volunteer-only service. Rather than juggling schedules and added options, why not provide a special service just for your vols? Same service format as Sunday morning, but with the added bonus of praying specifically for what God will do through your teams.
Attend one, serve two. If your church hosts multiple services anyway, you know you should be asking your team to attend one, serve one. For Easter weekend, challenge them to serve two, and double your numbers.
Teach shoulder-tapping. Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan coined this phrase, and it’s the best way to build your team. Empower your vols to leverage their relationships and invite new vols to serve alongside them.
Provide training. Don’t just recruit and dump. That’s the quickest way to get a one-and-done volunteer. Schedule a guest services training in order to get your new folks on the same page and instill confidence.
Honor their relationships. Hopefully your vols will be inviting unchurched friends to attend Easter services with them. Help them think through how they can invite friends and serve, but if you’re going to err, err on the side of those friendships.
Those are my eight. I’ll bet you have more, so leave a comment below. And if you’re looking for more great Easter content, my friend Bob Adams will prep you for what happens after Easter. Check it out.
