When Jesus rolled away His tomb’s stone on the first Easter morning, he opened an unequaled door of opportunity for all people by opening the door to eternal life and a relationship with God.

Likewise, Easter provides us as church leaders a unique opportunity to influence people for God.

Will you seize the opportunity or let it pass you by?

Easter can sneak up on you — and the unchurched people in your community — if you aren’t careful. But, with a commitment to prayer and strategic planning, you can partner with God as He uses Easter Sunday to draw people to Himself in larger numbers than on any other day of the year.

In Part 1 of a 3-part series on preparing for Easter Sunday, we will discuss the question all pastors must answer: what will I preach on Easter Sunday?

KNOW YOUR “WHY” FOR PREACHING ON EASTER
Before answering the question of “what” you will preach on Easter Sunday, you must first answer the question of “why” you are doing it. You will be preaching to a bigger crowd on Easter, and you have this one chance, within a set window of time, to influence them with your words and persuade them to come back to your church.

Remember that each face sitting in front of you is a gift from God — literally. You have been given the responsibility to steward their time well by giving them the best possible opportunity to know God. That is your “why.”

CHOOSING THE BEST TYPE OF SERMON FOR EASTER
Now that you know your “why”, you have three different options to choose from for your sermon:

1. End a teaching series on Easter Sunday
2. Preach a stand-alone message on Easter Sunday
3. Begin a teaching series on Easter Sunday

Let me begin by talking about the worst option: ending a series on Easter Sunday. When you end a series on Easter, you unintentionally create an environment where guests feel like they are being left out of something that everyone else is in on. Think about your goal for an Easter service. You want guests to come to know God and to want to come back to your church.

If they don’t feel welcome, they most likely will not want to come back.

Your next option is to preach a stand-alone message. While this is the most common option, it is not the best option. A stand-alone message may give your guests something to think about in the moment, but it will not likely lead to them coming back the next week. Why? Because you didn’t hook them in with the desire to hear more.

With that being said, the best type of Easter sermon is one that kicks off a brand new series. With this type of sermon, you get the best of both worlds because you make your guests feel like they are a part of something AND you challenge them to come back to hear how the series will play out. A significant number of our members at The Journey first came to church on Easter, with no intention of returning, but God had a different plan. We simply did our part to cooperate by cultivating a welcoming atmosphere.

The goal of your Easter service is to get every person who comes through your church doors connected to God and His church, which should influence what you preach on Easter Sunday. As church leaders, we have more opportunity on Easter than any other time of the year to impact people’s lives with the gospel.

If you preach a message that encourages guests to return the next week, you have an even bigger chance at helping them move forward in their journey with God and get plugged into your church.

Stay tuned for the rest of our series to learn how to plan an effective Easter service as well as how to follow up with guests after Easter.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

P.S. If you found this article helpful, please forward it to others.

And then join me next week for a FREE online training, Maximizing Easter in 2025. I’d like to help you make this Easter the best one ever!

You’ll discover brand new tools and strategies to meet today’s opportunities — and reach more people than ever for Christ.

Space is limited to just 100 spots at each of the 5 available training times on March 11, 12 or 13.

Click here to sign up now for FREE ($97.00 value) plus receive over $294.90 in bonuses!

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.