{"id":32126,"date":"2022-09-10T15:57:21","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-ways-to-knock-easter-follow-up-out-of-the-park\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:57:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:57:21","slug":"3-ways-to-knock-easter-follow-up-out-of-the-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-ways-to-knock-easter-follow-up-out-of-the-park\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Knock Easter Follow-Up Out of the Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Kyle Bueermann<\/em><\/p>\n

We just celebrated Easter Sunday, when millions of Christians gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It\u2019s very likely you saw a significant spike in your Sunday morning worship attendance.<\/p>\n

As Dean Inserra says in The Unsaved Christian<\/em>, \u201cFor most churches, Easter and Christmas Eve are the local church versions of the Super Bowl. From small rural churches to suburban megachurches, the crowd will likely be larger on these days than any other services of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like me, you probably get very excited after Easter as you sift through the visitor cards. You send notes, make phone calls, and you might even make a house visit or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow, look at all these new folks,\u201d you think. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see them next week!\u201d<\/p>\n

But as we all know, that rarely happens. Next Sunday will be here before you know it and you\u2019re already preparing your heart to sink as you realize they aren\u2019t coming back. At least yet.<\/p>\n

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For many pastors, this is where follow-up from Easter ends. \u201cWell, I tried,\u201d you may say to yourself. And, if I\u2019m frank, I\u2019ve been there before.<\/p>\n

The elation of Easter is followed quickly by a crushing dose of reality. In fact, the Sunday after Easter is often\u2014at least in my experience\u2014one of the lowest-attended Sundays of the year.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve experienced this roller coaster of emotions this spring, let me assure you that you\u2019re not alone. And let me also plead with you not to let your Easter Sunday follow-up strikeout after April 28.<\/p>\n

Allow me to offer three tips to hit your Easter visitor follow-up out of the park.<\/p>\n

1. Remember who your visitors are.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t just mean you should remember their names (although you should do that, too). Dean Inserra adds in The Unsaved Christian<\/em>, \u201cIt is not unchurched people who show up to church for Easter in droves\u2014it is unsaved Christians who walk in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

He means the folks who show up in droves will typically have some background in church. They\u2019ll show up on Easter Sunday because that\u2019s what \u201cgood Christian\u201d folks do.<\/p>\n

So, many of the people who come to your church on the big holidays (Christmas and Easter) will claim to be believers, but they (1) often don\u2019t have lifestyles that reflect that claim and (2) they\u2019re probably not regularly involved in a local church.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely most of the people who visited your church on Easter Sunday will claim the name of Christ. Now, it\u2019s possible (perhaps even probable) many of these individuals haven\u2019t turned from sin and trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n

So keep this in mind as you follow up. The biggest need in their lives isn\u2019t to be in church more often; they need to surrender to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives.<\/p>\n

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See also  3 Practical Steps for Reaching the Mission Field in Your Neighborhood<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2. Play the long game of follow-up.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For many of your Easter Sunday visitors, the only time they\u2019ll be in church each year is on Christmas and Easter. No matter how dynamic your service or how powerful your message, it\u2019s unlikely a cultural Christian\u2019s pattern of sleeping in on Sunday morning will break because of one service (notice I said unlikely\u2026not impossible).<\/p>\n

Keep in mind the opportunity to speak into people\u2019s lives will only come as you earn their trust, and this doesn\u2019t happen in one Sunday or even in a 10-minute phone conversation.<\/p>\n

It takes time. Are you willing to spend time following up with families for several months to gain their trust? Now, a lot of this can happen with other events your church already has on the calendar.<\/p>\n

For example, many of our churches already have Vacation Bible School on the calendar. If you had Easter Sunday visitors with kids, an invitation to VBS provides a natural follow-up.<\/p>\n

Our church is hosting an end-of-school bash near the end of May, so we\u2019ll have another opportunity to follow up as we invite people to that event.<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t overthink follow-up.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Follow-up doesn\u2019t have to be complicated but it does need to be intentional. You don\u2019t have to get giant thank you baskets for every family, but a simple plate of cookies or brownies is a great idea.<\/p>\n

A simple phone call to say, \u201cThank you for visiting our church on Easter. Is there any way I can pray for your family?\u201d might be incredibly impactful.<\/p>\n

And keep in mind that you, as pastor, don\u2019t have to do all the follow-up. Nor should you. Your Sunday School classes can bake cookies and adopt a couple of visitor families. Deacons can help you make phone calls.<\/p>\n

Above all, don\u2019t forget the most important thing with Easter follow-up is to let folks know that 1) God loves them and 2) your church loves them. Don\u2019t strikeout on the follow-up, my friends. Let\u2019s swing for the fences with our follow-through.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Bueermann<\/h2>\n

@kylebueermann<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Kyle co-authored\u00a0Replanting Rural Churches<\/em>\u00a0and is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Alamogordo, New Mexico,\u00a0director of replanter development for the North American Mission Board, and co-host of\u00a0Not Another Baptist Podcast<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n