It’s After Easter. Now What? 5 Tips for Church Communication.

The celebration of Easter is over, and Pastors are wondering what to do next. The church calendar focuses heavily on the Holy Week when many attend churches for their annual or semi-annual visit. 

After all the extra work leading up to the Easter weekend, it’s time to take a break and recharge, as well as, look ahead to the rest of your ministry year. Here are five suggestions to help your church move forward over the weeks and months after Easter:

1. Take a break and recharge. The weeks leading up to Easter can be physically and emotionally exhausting for church leaders, volunteers, and staff. After the busy weeks leading up to Easter, it’s important to take a breath and assess your mental and physical well-being. You cannot lead effectively if you are not well-rested. Encourage your team to take a break as well and recharge their batteries. Breathe. You’ll move forward with better clarity when you’re rested.
2. Debrief and seek feedback. Once you and your team are rested, it’s time to discuss the successes and challenges of Easter. Seek feedback from your team and volunteers to determine what worked and what didn’t. Did you have enough signage? Was your website up to date with the correct information? What was their initial feeling about things needing improving? Encourage open channels for discussion, and be mindful that often volunteers may go silent before quitting. Teach your team to listen without quickly giving excuses. And use this time to make everyone feel valued!
3. Update your website and social media. After Easter, it’s time to update your church’s website and social media channels. Although Easter messaging should be toned down, provide easy links to videos of your Easter services for those who may have missed them. Ensure that your website has clear next steps with contact information for visitors and members who have questions.
4. Create momentum for their “next”. Hopefully you announced the next sermon series during your Easter services or a potential 101 ministry that would be good for guests. Continue or create momentum now for what they might need next. Use the energy and excitement from Easter to lead your congregation to that step. Add the information to your website and social media channels, and promote it in-person too. This next step should lead them to a path to reach a personal goal or a solution to a concern in their life. Important: momentum, when most are away from the church throughout the week, must be created and controlled, or it’ll be missed.
5. Share testimonies. After Easter, it’s important to share stories of how the Easter message impacted the lives of your congregation. You can either tell these stories yourself or encourage members to share their own experiences. If using videos, coach the testimonies, and edit them into concise, moving videos. Emphasize their before and after, and how the ministry of the church has helped them. Since you’ll use these videos in services, on social media, and on your website, be sure to end with a URL or call-to-action that leads viewers to their relevant next step or to watch the Easter service video!

After Easter, churches must focus on moving forward and building on the momentum from the Easter weekend. Take a break, seek feedback, update your website and social media, create momentum for the future, and share testimonies. By doing so, you can continue to reach and impact the lives of your congregation and potentially reach your community too.