Easter is all about Jesus’ resurrection and salvation. It’s a great time to participate in evangelism, witnessing, and community outreach.Make Easter Goodie Bags for the Neighbor Kids
Fill each bag with:
Bagged Easter Candy or a Small Chocolate Bunny
Easter Tract
Easter Novelty Toy
Religious Easter Sticker
A real invitation to visit children’s church (10 for $1 at Dollar stores)
Goodie Bags
Give Out Resurrection Eggs
Resurrection Eggs teach children about Jesus’ death and resurrection. A miniature Easter symbol is found in each of the dozen plastic eggs . An easy-to-understand booklet features Bible stories explaining the significance of each object. You can get a few and give them to non-Christian families in your neighborhood. Or, you can get one for your family and show it to the kids when the non-Christian neighbor kids come over to play.
Church Musical Event
Have the church kids put on a musical play to attract families with children. Also, tell the audience How They Can Become Christians. Advertise and invite the community. Announce that kids (not the church kids) will get a free Easter goodie bag. Include an invitation to visit Children’s Church and the Mid Week Children’s Class. Make the children feel special and welcomed so that they will want to come back. You can have a free cookies and hot cocoa refreshment time after the Easter Musical, also.
Easter Egg Hunt and Party
Invite the community to a free Easter egg hunt and outdoor party. Activity ideas: egg hunt with candy filled plastic eggs, face painting, snacks, games, Easter crafts, puppet show, kids comedian, give away Comic Book Bibles, the Resurrection Eggs presentation, and play live kids Christian music. Give every kid a bag to hold his or her eggs, crafts, and Bible. Include an invitation to church the next day. Announce in your invitation what the kids will be doing on Easter Sunday at church: for example - Watch the Jesus Movie and have an Easter snack. Invite the parents to the Easter morning service. Also, provide information about all of your church activities that families would be interested in.
Easter Road Show
Develop a team that can travel to conduct an Easter Sunday service or a children’s Easter service with an egg hunt. You can hold your Easter services in housing projects, retirement housing, nursing homes, and trailer parks. Let the people know that you will be coming every week with the church van or bus if they need a ride to church. (Many people can’t even visit church, because they don’t have transportaion.)
Lily Gratitude
Instead of spending money on Easter lilies to decorate the church, purchase lilies and give them away to local businesses, hospitals, law enforcement, schools, nursing homes, etc. Attach a card telling them that your church appreciates the work that they do. You can also include an invitation to Sunday Easter service.
Parade and Fun Run
Aside from Easter brunch or dinner, and giving their kids an Easter basket, many non-Christian families don’t have much to do on Easter. Your church could have an Easter parade and Resurrection Fun Run.
Easter Labyrinth
During the Easter season your church can invite the community (and local college students) to a Labyrinth Experience featuring Stations of the Cross that explain the true meaning of Easter. A labyrinth consists of a path through the church building. Along the path, there are opportunities to stop, think and respond as the journey unfolds. Make sure to have pastors available to talk with the guests.
Easter Signs
Church members can put a corrugated plastic sign in their front yards inviting the neighbors to Easter services and church events.
Spring Family Festival
Provide a follow up event a week or so after the community Easter Egg Hunt, like a Spring Family Festival. When kids come to the Egg Hunt, give them special bags for collecting the eggs. Have carnival tickets stapled to each egg bag that can be used at the Spring Festival for rides and games. This will encourage the family to come back for a second visit.
One Card, One Guest
Hand out one Easter Service invitation to each of your regular attendees. Ask them to pray for one person that God is leading them to invite. They can either mail or hand-deliver the invitations to the people they’ve been praying for.
Church Garage Sale
The week before Easter, host a garage sale to benefit a local Christian charity. Make it a fun community event by providing food, music, and fliers promoting your Easter Church Service or event.
Egg-vitations
The Sunday before Easter, give the children at church some plastic eggs filled with candy and an invitation to attend church on Easter. They can pass out the egg-viations to their non-Christian friends and the neighbor kids.
Take Neighbor Kid to a Church Easter Event
Churches put on free Easter plays, Music Concerts, and Egg Hunts during this time of the year. It’s a good opportunity to invite a neighbor friend along.
Easter Website
You can either make your website or promote one that already exists. Explain on you site how the Resurrection of Jesus is the real meaning of Easter. Give people and invitation to Salvation, or promote Easter Evangelism on your site.
Outdoor Easter Decorating
Decorate the outside your home, promoting a Christian Easter. Set up a display with a lighted cross and a message of salvation.
Easter Conversations
Ask people what they will be doing for Easter. It’s a way to get a conversation going that may lead to talking about Christ. If they return the question, you will be able to explain what Easter means to you.
Host a College Student During Easter Break
Make arrangements through a college or your church to have a student stay with you during Spring Break. Many students can’t afford to fly home during the break.
Easter Dinner Volunteer
Homeless shelters, churches, other ministries put on an Easter dinner for poor people in the community. They need volunteers to keep these events going.
Donate to the Christian Soup Kitchen
Call up the soup kitchen and ask what items are still needed for Easter dinner.
Easter Cards
Send out Easter cards and Gospel Tracts to those on your Christmas card list.
Call Long Distance Friends
Call up non-Christian friends and relatives. Catch up on your lives and tell them about going to the Easter service and about the exciting things your family has been doing at church.
Promote TheFreeBeeSite.com
Pass out small flyers or business cards advertising TheFreeBeeSite.com It’s a good opportunity for non-Christians to get a free Bible or other items that explain Salvation, which is the real meaning of Easter. Kids will enjoy decorating the ads with Easter stickers.
Easter Bunny Dress Up
Dress up as the Easter Bunny. Go door-to-door passing out flyers inviting families to the Church Easter Egg hunt, concert, service, or Spring Carnival.
Easter Movie Night for the Children
Invite the children in the community to come watch Easter movies before Easter.
Veggie Tales - An Easter Carol
The Bed Bug Bible Gang Easter Party
The Greatest Adventure: The Easter Story
It’s the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown (no Christian references)
Make sure to serve plenty of free snacks to eat during the movies. Invite the kids back to church on Easter. Send home an Easter Book or The Children’s Comic Book Bible
Easter for Prisoners
Get a church group together to put on an Easter service at a prison. You’ll need to work with the prison to find out all the rules about what you can and can’t do.
Online Gift Catalog
Buy baby chicks, ducks, rabbits, goats, and sheep through an online gift catalog like Heifer (secular), Samaritan’s Purse, and World Vision. They will give the animals to families in underdeveloped countries so that they can provide food for their family and sell the extras.
Easter E-mail Signature
Add a signature to your e-mail that expresses the true meaning of Easter.
Support Easter Outreaches with Your Money
There are a lot of Christian organizations trying to raise money for their outreach projects. Your financial contribution can help them reach more people this Easter or through out the whole year. Your church may be putting on a service or egg hunt that needs more funding. Here’s Life Inner City gives out Easter goodie bags filled Christian items.
Easter Candy Giveaway
Give out Easter candy or chocolate bunnies, Easter tracts, and an invitation to your Easter service at public events or busy places in town.
A Personal Invitation
Go door-to-door and invite the people in the community to your Easter service. Knock on the door, hand them an invitation, and tell them in person that you would like them to come.
Activities in the Community
Put out a flyer and make a website promoting all of the Christian Easter Activities. Call every church in your area to find out the details. Print up flyers and pass them out door-to-door. On the flyer, advertise your website that gives even more details, directions, and links to the church websites, and a salvation message.
Promote Easter Evangelism
Make a flyer listing Easter Evangelism ideas. Pass it out to your Christian friends and family. Get permission to include it in the church bulletin.
Lilies or Spring Bouquets for Nursing Home Residents
Deliver some flowers to a few nursing home residents. The front desk workers will probably know of a few residents that need flowers and a visitor to cheer them up. It will give you a reason to go visit and provide you with a way to start a conversation with some of the residents.
Care Packages to College Students
Learn how to make a care package at Care Package Witness. You can include Easter candy and Easter items from the Dollar store. Send it to a non-Christian college student.
A Charlie Brown Easter
Invite kids over to watch It’s the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown. Send home a gift bag with Easter items, invitation to your church egg hunt, and an Easter Book.
Easter Brunch Giveaway
There are people who have to work on Easter. Get a church group together and deliver a basket of brunch food to hospital workers and anyone else who is working on Easter Sunday. Giveaway brunch finger foods like: desserts, ham and cheese cubes, chocolates, fruits slices and cubes, vegetable sticks, muffins, and slices of sweet bread.
Spring Flowers
Your church can deliver potted Spring flowers, Easter cards, and invitations to the neighbors that live near your church.
Ham Giveaway
Deliver frozen hams to families in lower income neighborhoods, compliments of your church.
Business Outreach
Visit the businesses around your church. Surprise the employees with a basket of cookies and Easter candy. You can say - “Happy Easter from your neighbors at ____ church. Include an invitation in the basket.
Spring Break forTravelers
Get church volunteers to help out at rest areas. Pass out doughnuts and coffee. Wear T-shirts or caps that identify you as part of a Christian church. Volunteers can also make special arrangements with a gas station. Wash windshields, offer free coffee, and pump the gas.
Craft Night
Host a Easter Craft Night and invite the kids in the community. Kids can make crafts to give away at Easter. Oriental Trading has many low cost Easter and Spring Crafts Kits to choose from. Or, you can go to this site to get ideas for crafts to make.
Spring Fashion Show
Your women’s ministry can put on a fashion show with a salad luncheon, musical entertainment, and a guest speaker. The speaker can talk about something interesting and give her testimony. You can get clothing: on loan from a store, in exchange for promoting the store, and by using the personal clothing from people at church.
Sunrise Service
Invite the community to an Easter Sunrise Service in a beautiful location -the beach, a mountaintop, a park, or a flower farm.
Free Easter Breakfast
Invite the neighborhood to a free breakfast at your church followed by an Easter service.
Put up Posters
Choose from a variety of Free Easter Posters. Print them and put them up in public places.
Resurrection T-shirt Evangelism
Wear a Christian T-shirt that tells the real meaning of Easter. It may lead to a conversation.
Who Is Jesus? DVD
You can give away DVDs called Who is Jesus? They cost $2 each and are 20 minutes long.
Pie Giveaway
Bake extra pies and give them away to your neighbors, along with an Easter tract and an invitation to your church Easter service.
Invitation to Easter Dinner
Invite a non-Christian family to Easter dinner. Share about how your family celebrates Easter and about what the Resurrection means to you.
Spring Farm
Set up a petting zoo on your church property. Show bunnies, chicks, ducklings, lambs, and give free pony rides.
Easter Bunny Tea
Invite the kids in the community to an Easter Bunny Tea. Encourage them to bring along their favorite stuffed animal. Serve hot cocoa, sandwiches, fruit slices and snacks. You can show a movie about Easter. Take photos with the Easter Bunny who passes out chocolate bunnies. Send the kids home with information about your church’s children’s ministry and an invitation to the church service on Easter.
Easter Bonnet Workshop and Parade
Invite the kids in your community to a hat-making workshop at your church, or the park. Then, all the kids can wear their hats in a parade down the sidewalk. Have someone dress up as the Easter Bunny and join the parade. Send the kids home with information about your church’s children’s ministry.
Flashlight Egg Hunt for Teens
Have the youth group invite their non-Christian friends to an all night party and flashlight egg hunt. You can show movies, play dodge ball, have a Christian rock concert, give a Salvation message, and provide lots of snack food. Send the guests home with an invitation to your church’s Easter service.
Ham Bowl Event
Have the youth group invite their non-Christian friends to a Ham Bowl. You can also have a pie-eating contest, Easter bonnet making contest, bunny hopping relay race, Easter cookie decorating contest, and a Gospel presentation.
Give Away Christian Easter Books
Donate books about Easter and the Resurrection to libraries.
Pancake Breakfast and Egg Hunt
Invite the community to a free pancake breakfast followed by an Easter egg hunt for the kids. You may want to provide live instrumental music during the breakfast. Make the guests feel welcome and tell them about your church programs.
Passion Play
Look around for a professional passion play in your area. You could check your local newspaper. Buy tickets and invite a non-Christian friend.
Pass Out Cross Necklaces
Many people want cross necklaces, despite their lack of religious beliefs. You can give away inexpensive Cross Necklaces (.33 each) and Tracts that explain the Cross and salvation.
Host a Good Friday Community Prayer Vigil
Open your church sanctuary for a prayer vigil from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Church members can sign up for half-hour time slots. Invite people in the community to drop by to pray whenever they like. Set up a table in the back with free literature. Set out prayer cards so participants can record praises or requests, Gospel tracts, and invitations to your Easter service.
Good Friday Concert
Invite a guest musician or group to perform at your church. Invite the community to the free concert. Give a short gospel presentation, too. (Don’t ask for a voluntary offering or donation. It makes the visitors feel uncomfortable and obligated.)
(Easter Bunny Fish Image by ChristArt.com)
