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Mars Hill Senior Pastor Mark Driscoll preaches to a crowd of over 17,500 people at the football stadium Qwest field in Seattle, Wash., on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011. (Photo: Mars Hill Church via The Christian Post)
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As Christians gather this Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, many churches are pulling out elaborate props and Easter presentations in an effort to grow membership and make converts out of those "Chreasters," their friends, coworkers, family members and neighbors who attend service only on Christmas and Easter. But, according to experts, some congregations are woefully unprepared when it comes to connecting and keeping contact with their biannual guests.
Easter 2012 saw Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, use a live lion and a lamb on stage during his open-air Sunday service, which drew a bit of criticism from local animal rights activists. This year, Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Wash., plans to hold a record 42 services across his 14 campuses in four states and expects a huge number of converts to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
As an electrified Driscoll explains in a recent video announcement about Easter 2013, "Easter's coming. It's our biggest Sunday of the year! We get so excited for Easter Sunday. It's where we see the most people meet Jesus, the most people attend the church, the most people get baptized. So it is the day we are the most excited."
Yet the excitement surrounding Easter Sunday and the presentations and props used to help convey Christian beliefs about Jesus' resurrection often lose their "awesome" and "epic" flavor once the following Sunday rolls around. It is quite common, actually, for some pastors to find themselves wistfully watching the doors and hoping that at least one or two of the previous week's guests return with the intention of giving Jesus, or at least church, a try. Read more
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