I'm just back from a national gathering of condev people, and Charles Fulton, national condev guru, told us there's a difference between who comes to church at Easter and who comes at Christmas.
Easter brings "lapsed" members while Christmas brings out more "seekers" among the folks we usually don't see at church. That suggests a different evangelistic strategy for Easter than at Chistmas -- something for you to consider when you're preparing for Easter.
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
This in from Louie Crew: "I culled the data from Executive Council reports as they appear in theEpiscopal Church Annual for each year in the decade. 2002 is the last full year for which complete data is available."
Communicants are up 17.9% over the decade 1992-2002, but average
Sunday attendance is up by only 0.9%"
See Louie's new report at
http://newark.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/communicants92_02.html
for the full data and rank for each diocese regarding both communicants and
attendance.
By now, you know that "The Passion of the Christ" is the most-watched movie of 2004, and has people talking all over America -- and the world. As more people ask more questions about the subject of the film, here are some more resources.
One of the most comprehensive listing of sites that deal with "The Passion of the Christ" will be found at:
http://www.faithmaps.org/passion.htm
I recommend you take a look, check out some of the sites, and be better able to answer questions about Jesus, his death and resurrection.
LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England has begun a hunt for a virtual vicar to take charge of a flock of "cyber-worshippers" in its first Internet parish.
Fri 5 March, 2004 04:11
The diocese of Oxford has advertised for a "Web pastor" to take charge of its soon-to-be-launched online church (www.i-church.org), set up for those who want to be part of a congregation but are unable or unwilling to join a traditional parish.
"We are looking for a dynamic, confident Christian (lay or ordained) who is able to build this new community, lead its core members, and be available to visitors to the site," the diocese's advertisement published on Friday said.
The i-church Web site said it will offer online daily worship, a reading for the day and prayers.