Don’t Waste the Week After Easter: 4 Things Every Church Leader Should Do

Easter happened. People showed up, and amazing things happened. 

It’s all done now, right? 

Not quite, and that’s not a bad thing. 

The best celebrations always demand a follow-up. The best celebrations in life are often naturally accompanied by a necessary or required follow-up activity.

Isn’t this true of a wedding celebration? What commonly happens after the final guests leave? The couple huddles with the wedding party to toast to the successful day. Vendors and volunteers are thanked. Follow-up on social media occurs. “Thank you” letters are mailed out. The event may have ended, but appropriate and necessary activities resume. 

The need for follow-up reveals the true significance of the celebration. In the same way, while the weekend Easter celebration may have ended after the last guest left our church buildings, there are necessary activities that belong to the church leader because of how significant Easter was. 

Here are four things every church leader should do after Easter: 

1. Celebrate God’s Work

Our ministry journeys are too short not to rejoice in what God does. If longevity in church ministry is 30 years, that’s only 30 Easters we’re seeing up close and personal. Whichever Easter number you’re at, you need to bask in and soak up the joy of every baptism, the excitement of every new guest, and the energy of post-service fun. 

Were we the ones who brought someone from death to life? Were we omniscient enough to keep an eye on every minute operational detail? Did we make people feel awe and wonder because we can mimic the Holy Spirit? No! So take a few moments and give thanks for what He has done. 

2. Integrate New Guests

One of the biggest misses of Easter is when pastors and leaders fail to follow up on those who visited their church. It is not easy to get a guest to visit your church. It isn’t easy to get someone who is skeptical to walk through your church doors. But to have those individuals in mass on one weekend and not follow up is a failure of leadership. 

Integration may sound daunting, but it often comes down to two things: 1. Make a personal touchpoint. Email or call them, thanking them for their visit 2. Invite to a clear next step, be it a sermon series or an opportunity to join a small group. 

3. Appreciate Volunteers

Close your eyes and play back your Easter service. Now imagine that service without any volunteers. It would be horrifying to think what an awful experience it would've been for everyone if it were not for our incredible volunteers. Church leaders know the truth about church gatherings: God’s people are the ones who really make the gatherings great. 

Appreciation doesn’t need to be grand, just genuine. A sincere “Thank you” goes a long way. I know a church pastor who delivers handwritten notes. It can be you sharing a story of how someone was impacted by a volunteer’s intentionality. There are multiple ways to appreciate volunteers, but what matters is that we do it. 

4. Calibrate For Excellence

Churches often bust out all the stops for Easter and rightfully so. But what will be the experience of the returning guest the following weekend? I don’t think the second-time visitor expects the same level of pomp and circumstance. But I believe the second-time visitor would be surprised and disappointed if there was a significant drop-off in the level of excellence from the weekend prior. 

Don’t treat the weekend after Easter as a cooldown but as a continuation. Be intentional with service programming. Keep the transitions finely tuned. Pray for the service as much as you prayed for your Easter services. Anticipate the work of God. If a returning guest senses a dip in attentiveness, they may conclude the church only pursues excellence when trying to impress. 

Conclusion

Easter services occur once a year. But the practice of gratitude for God’s work, intentionality with new visitors, appreciation of volunteers, and the pursuit of excellence? These are things we can chase week after week, day after day. Repetition builds ministry muscle memory. And God loves using leaders who train with intention.

But even if you don’t have those ministry muscles, you have to do it right after your Easter services. Remember, the best celebrations always demand a follow-up, and Easter is as good as it gets.