How churches make Easter season special

Easter doesn’t have the commercial sizzle of Christmas, yet it remains the most important and holiest day on the Christian calendar.

But warmer weather, spring break and other factors may tempt Christians to skip Easter Sunday service. So how do local pastors keep a strong focus on Easter within their congregations? We talked to the following church leaders about different approaches ranging from elaborate events to traditional ceremonies.

Bishop Jim Swilley

Church in the Now, Conyers

During the Easter season, this interdenominational church concentrates on its Resurrection Sunday service, which takes place at 10 a.m. Sunday. According to Swilley, making Easter and the church in general a priority is a challenge he and his staff face all year.

“I guess I would approach Easter and presenting it to the public as I would all of our ministry,” Swilley said. “So much of people’s attitudes toward the local church have changed and are changing. So we’re constantly having to explore what makes the church relevant, why do they come, why is it worth them taking time out of their busy schedules? The story of Jesus’ resurrection has relevance to people of all faiths, even people of non-religious [beliefs]. What it says is that death is not the end. There’s always something else, there’s always a reason to hope, there’s always reason to believe things will get better and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Pastor Reginald Screen, senior pastor

New Beginnings Fellowship, Duluth

“The Crucifixion is about the death; the Resurrection is about the life. It’s the engine that runs the car,” said Screen.

With that importance in mind, he and his staff have been putting an emphasis on the Easter season in unique ways, including adding the story of the Resurrection to a traditional egg hunt, which takes place on Sunday. Twelve of the hidden eggs will be numbered, and inside each will be a strip of paper containing a portion of the Resurrection story written on a kid’s level. The children will read the strips aloud.

At the 10 a.m. Easter Sunday service, Screen says he’ll focus on the practicality of the Resurrection story.

“I will talk about people’s problems and encourage them that Christ has really arisen, he lives inside us and he wants us to live out his life in a practical way so others can have hope,” he said. “So it’s more of an outworking of the Resurrection.”

Linda Flanigan, executive pastor

Isaiah United Methodist Church, Stone Mountain

To help make Easter a priority within its congregation, Flanigan says the church has offered and will be offering a variety of events and celebrations. The church’s new prayer ministry was launched during Holy Week. Guest vocalists will perform at the 11 a.m. service on Sunday, featuring a sermon by lead pastor Troy Benton.

It’s the application of the Resurrection message, Flanigan says, that she sees as most important. “We see that Jesus made a huge sacrifice on behalf of mankind,” she said. “Even as he was on the cross, he asked the father to forgive them for they know not what they do. It was a lesson to us that it’s not our job to condemn or to find fault in one another, but it’s our job to love each other, to get along and to promote each other. I’ve been seeing more of that in our congregation and in others as well.”

Todd Lollis, executive pastor

Freedom Church, Acworth

When Freedom Church was launched in January 2008, one of its goals was to create events in conjunction with community organizations.

On April 4, Freedom Church supplied nearly 100 volunteers and half the 25,000 eggs hidden in Cauble Park for the Acworth Egg Drop. The church also acquired a helicopter, which dropped about 5,000 of the eggs onto the field. At the end of the hunt, some of the volunteers distributed cards advertising Freedom Church’s children’s ministry and Easter services. The services take place at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday.

“We realize people have a decision to make on the weekend about what to do with their time,” Lollis said. “What we try to do is create unforgettable worship experiences and exceed people’s expectations of what they’re going to encounter whenever they show up to church. …We treat Easter just like every Sunday of the year. You don’t want to blow it out and have people come back on another Sunday and be disappointed with the service. We want to give them what they’re going to get the other 51 Sundays of the year.”

The Rev. Brian Goke, pastor for small groups and family ministry

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta

Many pedestrians who pass in front of this church on Peachtree Street in Midtown this morning will likely do a double take. As part of its Holy Week observance, Redeemer is hosting a family Easter event. An egg hunt is part of the proceedings, but its Jerusalem market differentiates it from the typical seasonal celebration. As visitors make their way through a staged village, they’ll find a Seder meal, foot washing, pottery making and a small petting zoo with baby farm animals.

On Sunday, the church presents four services. “We don’t put a new angle on it,” Goke said. “The story of Christ speaks for itself. I think the church and the pastors of the church will retell the story in a way, especially this year, that invites people to experience hope. It seems like a lot of folks are struggling and wondering where there might be hope and some light. And our role as pastors and leaders of the church is to invite people to consider this story again given the meltdown in the global economic crisis.”

Laurence McCollough, senior pastor

Simpsonwood United Methodist Church, Norcross

McCollough recognizes the fact this celebration lacks the secular attention given to Christmas. And with the current state of the world, he says, the Christian significance of Easter is being brought to the forefront.

“I think the emphasis on baby chickens, bunny rabbits and so forth has faded into the background as people are coming to grips with much more serious considerations in their lives,” he said. “This year, I don’t think it’s much of a hard sell. I think people are really looking for inspiration. The bubble has burst in so many financial areas of our lives. People are looking for what is real and what is lasting during these troubled times. It ought to have enormous applicability to what’s happening today.”

Along with many churches, Simpsonwood, he says, has been offering midday services throughout Holy Week featuring readings and prayer. There will be three services on Sunday.