It’s almost time for Easter! I get really excited for the season. Not because I enjoy Easter egg hunting and pastels and nice weather, but because this is what our faith is all about! Jesus resurrected from the dead is why we celebrate today!

Since Easter is coming, it’s a good time to start. Thinking about what your plan is going to be. Just like Christmas and New Year’s, Easter is a holiday that lets you try some new things and experiment a little bit. If you start getting ready now, you’ll be more than prepared on April 9!

Know your church

I’ve served in two different churches during my youth, ministry tenure, and while both make a big deal out of Easter, what that looks like for those churches is really different.

At my first church it was the highest attended Sunday of the year. And not just in the worship service but for every Sunday school class and Youth Ministry event as well. We had to make sure we were planning for a lot more students than normal!

At the church, I go to now, it’s a little different.

While the big church service is still really packed, all of our Sunday morning classes drop in attendance. Like, half or more of even our most consistent regulars don’t show up.

Your church might lean one way or the other or be somewhere in the middle. My encouragement to you is to think about your church and plan accordingly. Is it going to be a blowout Sunday or are people going to just come to big church and then spend the rest of the day with family?

Know your students 

It’s important not only to think about the culture of your church, you need to consider the culture of your student ministry as well.

Are they going to bring friends on Easter Sunday? Are they going to bring family from out of town? Do they like experimenting and trying something new? Do you think they would be challenged with a more pared down ministry day?

This would be a good time to consult your students and ask them what they think the Sunday morning experience could look like and get their feedback. It will really help your planning!

Make a plan

Speaking of planning, once you have considered your church and your students, make a solid plan! Get everything together and think about what you’re going to need for that day.

Are you going to have food when you normally wouldn’t? Or are you going to make, your usual food prep a little better?

What is your follow up to guests and visitors coming for the first time on Easter going to look like? Could you have students involved in big church if you don’t feel like they’re going to attend regular student ministry?

Put a plan down on paper now and start, getting ready!

Communicate it!

We can often complain about how people don’t read our emails or look at our social media. That doesn’t really help the fact that we still have to communicate a plan if we’re going to change things up.

But before you communicate your plan to parents and students, run it by your senior pastor or supervisor first. Are you really rocking the boat on Easter? Make sure everyone is on board. Are you going to need some extra volunteers to make Sunday morning happen? Make sure you have those adults ready so that they’re not surprised the week of.

Once you have communicated your plan to leadership and people serving behind the scenes, make sure everybody knows what Easter is going to look like for student ministry! Maybe you’ve got a really cool Good Friday service planned out for your students. Maybe you’re not going to meet when you regularly would to allow students to spend time with their families. Whatever it is, make sure you over communicate so that everyone knows what’s going to happen on Easter Sunday!

Lent

Does your church make a big deal out of Lent? Could it with the help of the student ministry? It’s a great opportunity to get yourself and your students ready for the Easter season! Think about how you could use the season of Lent to prepare your hearts and minds for the ressurection of Jesus! There are some cool resources down below to use in you ministry!

I love Easter. It’s such a wonderful season and a great time to celebrate Jesus! What’s your plan for Easter? It’s coming up sooner than you think! Let’s make sure we have an awesome Sunday! 

Ronald

Need something to get ready for Easter? Check out these great Instagram posts for the season of Lent!

Need to communicate what Lent is to your students? Here’s a great one-off talk to make your own!