Easter is a great opportunity to invite people to church. And it’s not just about numbers. The more people who attend your worship service, the more who will hear the message of the gospel clearly communicated through the resurrection story. A complete church management system (ChMS) can help smooth out the kinks of Easter Sunday planning.
An all-in-one ChMS makes everything related to church administration easier, especially for Easter. Rather than having multiple software solutions with just as many logins and passwords, complete church management software ties all the systems together. It records and tracks member data, provides reports, and enhances communication. Online giving is simple for donors and is synced to member records. Plan out worship services and provide information to volunteers. Live streaming is linked directly to your church website and other platforms to get your Easter message out.
Below, you’ll find 8 Easter Sunday planning tips to help your church reach more people.
1. Reach out to irregular attendees.
Church attendance is highest at Easter for most churches. Though there are quite a few new people who will show up, a lot of the influx is from irregular attenders. They like to make an appearance because it “makes sense” during Easter. Be sure to reach out to these people prior to your service(s). Send them an email or a text message through your church management system. Let them know the details of the service, like times and location. Don’t forget to encourage them to invite somebody too!
2. Schedule more volunteers on Easter Sunday.
You’ll want all hands on deck for Easter. And maybe even a few more! That means inviting, scheduling, and coordinating your volunteers. WorshipPlanning makes it easy to coordinate your volunteers. From children’s ministry to worship ministry to the welcome team, plan out who will serve where. If you are having more than one Easter service, you can coordinate volunteers for multiple services too.
3. Welcome new visitors.
When planning Easter Sunday, you’ll want to be sure to have a welcome strategy in place for new guests. Vamp up your welcome team to have smiling faces in the parking lot, at the doors, and in the sanctuary. Say hello from the pulpit and encourage visitors to fill out a connection card. Have printed welcome cards available as well as digital ones. With an all-in-one ChMS with website integration, you can include a form on your church website, mobile app, or reply with the link when guests text your church’s unique phone number
4. Get the word out beforehand.
Let people know about your Easter services. To get more people there (and thus, share the gospel with more people), get the word out! Update your church website with the correct date, time(s), and location(s). Send a reminder via text message to invite others. Provide service times on social media. Word of mouth is always a great marketing strategy. Encourage your congregation a few weeks before Easter to start inviting their friends and family.
5. Provide multiple giving options.
Most churchgoers are going to have their phones handy on Easter Sunday! Make giving seamless by allowing them to give straight from their phone. With online giving from Shelby, people can donate however is easiest for them. Online, text, kiosk, and app giving are convenient options. Include an embeddable giving form on your church website. Provide the form link when people text your church’s giving phone number. Download the Shelby Systems Easter Toolkit 2022 to get additional resources you need to help encourage offerings before and after Easter.
6. Plan out your service(s).
Preparing for Easter Sunday will undoubtedly include planning out the service. WorshipPlanning allows you to update your worship flow and include specific details about your Easter service. Drag-and-drop fields make it easy to organize how it will run. Include pre-service elements, add a set list, and provide times to follow throughout the service. Add notes for people and automatically update volunteers.
7. Organize your Easter worship set.
Along with developing your entire Easter service, WorshipPlanning also provides you with the ability to organize your worship set. Add songs to your worship flow, transpose keys, and provide chord charts for your musicians and singers. Plus, all the essentials are there to help your worship team. Important info like key, tempo, and lyrics are all available.
8. Live stream your Easter service.
Integrating live streaming with your complete church management software makes it easy to stream from your church website and your social platforms. With attendance at its peak on Easter, you can reach even more people online. Post a link to your digital giving page and communicate with the online congregation through chat.
Complete Church Management Software to Help You Plan
Smooth out the administrative processes as you begin planning ahead for Easter Sunday church services. Shelby Systems makes it easier to maximize your church’s impact while simultaneously reducing administrative burden. Bundle our powerful services to create a complete church management system that will work for your ministry.
To inspire your people to get on board with giving, whichever way they choose to do it, you’ll want them to understand the heart behind why we give. Join us for a live webinar on February 24 to explore various ways your church can increase engagement and promote online giving during the Easter season.