Our churches are often filled at Easter as we welcome many people who otherwise never come. Others, perhaps with great spiritual longing, decide that Easter would be a good time to "check it out" at church. How should we greet the newcomer in the name of the risen Christ? Here are some thoughts and practical suggestions:
1. First things first: Make sure your voicemail annoucement gives the times of your services and directions. Make sure the message includes a special greeting to newcomers and visitors.
2. Have extra "greeters" at the church entrances to answer questions, point the way to childcare and restrooms, and give a warm smile and welcome to all.
3. Consider printing the entire liturgy, to minimize confusion for newcomers.
4. The sermon for Easter is probably the greatest opportunity for a preacher to share the Good News with many people she or he would otherwise miss. And for many of these newcomers, the best expression of that Good News would not be a theological reflection about the nature of Resurrection, but the preacher's experience of Jesus: Risen and alive today.
5. Consider having some contemporary music together with the traditional hymns and choir anthems. And if you're adding extra musical instruments to your sound, consider that there is a high correlation between the use of drums and church growth!
6. Practice your welcome remarks to newcomers before Easter. Make it authentic, warm and inviting. Lower the barriers: "We are all seeking the Risen Christ in this community. We don't have all the answers, but we are finding Jesus on this journey."
7.For Easter coffee hour: encourage regular attenders to spend all their time at coffee hour talking to people they don't know or have never met.
8. Make sure your website has up-to-date info about services and directions.
9. Holy Week and Easter are often high-stress time for clergy and lay leaders: make your own personal spiritual devotion, prayer and practice a priority, so you will be prepared for the demands of leadership.
10. Pray that God will make you and your congregation a welcoming expression of the Good News of Jesus -- and expect that you will find the face of the risen Christ in the faces of newcomers.
With blessings for this holy season,
Michael