Five Ways to Bring Non-Believers to Church for Easter

Despite all the talk about Church attendance being down, we can take comfort in the fact that Easter will almost certainly be around in the secular world for a long time. This is because it has a shiny silver lining. It’s a huge moneymaker. Back in 2023, the National Retail Federation said:

“Consumers planned to spend a collective $24 billion on Easter this year, up from $20.8 billion in 2022 and the previous record high of $21.7 billion in 2020.”

In 2022, U.S. adults spent an average of $169.79 on Easter, with candy being the top purchase for 90% of respondents.

So that’s one Christian tradition (like Christmas) that will remain as long as the world loves making money. And while candy may be on the minds of many, millions also take an obligatory trek to churches across the country at Easter—because that’s the thing to do. Among that number, almost all know they’re visiting the church to remember Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead. 

Sharing the Message of Salvation

However, I know from experience that only a few of those many can tell you how His death on the cross can benefit them 2,000 years after the fact. Most of these annual churchgoers think He died as an example of how we should live. They believe that we are to love and forgive our enemies, as seen in the example Jesus set from the cross. We are to strive to imitate Jesus and, in so doing, earn our way to Heaven. 

So, our message as pastors at Easter is to correct this terrible error gently but decisively—and we do it by opening up the Commandments to show sin in its true light and Jesus bearing the punishment due to us so we can escape divine wrath. Our Easter message is simply that salvation from death is by grace, through faith. 

Practical Applications

Here now are five practical ways we can, as pastors, use Easter to reach the lost:

1. Tell your people about the effectiveness of a personal invitation to their friends and acquaintances to attend church. They know people you don’t know, so encourage them to reach out to their non-believing friends, share their excitement about Easter services, and extend a warm invitation. Tell them to emphasize the coffee-and-donuts welcoming atmosphere of your church.
2. Organize special community events around Easter that are open to everyone. This could include an Easter egg hunt for kids, a free community meal, or some charity event—perhaps free dry-cleaned used clothing. Use these occasions to rub shoulders with your neighbors and invite them to join your church’s Easter service.
3. Use social media platforms to share your church’s Easter events. If you don’t know how to do this, someone in your church is bound to be an expert. Create engaging posts that highlight the positive aspects of the celebration and extend an invitation for people to join. Consider using targeted ads to reach a wider audience. 
4. When talking about Easter services, tell your people to exercise godly discretion by speaking of Easter as a time for family worship, making new friends, and celebrating what God has done through the resurrection. But once they are in your service, determine to love them enough to speak the truth of the Gospel faithfully. 
5. Create opportunities for open dialogue about Easter and its significance. Host an after-service discussion, a Q&A session, or informational sessions that allow non-believers to ask questions and learn more about the Easter celebration and your church. All this could be done around a delicious free lunch—because that adage is true: The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. 

Pastor, we are coming up on the second-most attended church service of the year behind Christmas. Do not miss this opportunity to share the Gospel with the lost.

©2024 Ray Comfort. Used with permission.