Typically, churches have more people visit their church on Easter than at any other time. Search the internet, type it into Chat GBT, and ask a few of your church staff, and you will receive a plethora of answers on why so many people decide to visit on Easter more than any other time of the year.
Since that topic is covered, we thought we would focus on the flip side: why people won't attend your church this Easter.
REASON #1 People Will Not Attend Your Church This Easter - They Don't Know. You may think in your "Church Sphere." that everyone knows the story of the cross and the salvation we receive as part of it. This is not the case. People may know Easter as a religious holiday, but most do not understand it.
According to Barna's research, just 42% of Americans said that the meaning of Easter was the resurrection of Jesus or that it signifies Christ's death and return to life. Even more, only one out of every 50 adults (2%) said that they would describe Easter as the most important holiday of their faith. Barna Research Archives
To put this into perspective, out of the 5,000 homes around your church location, 2,900 of them may not know the true meaning of salvation and Easter.
Even within the religious definitions offered by Americans, there is a certain degree of confusion: 2% of Americans said that Easter is about the “birth of Christ”; another 2% indicated it was about the “rebirth of Jesus”; and 1% said it is a celebration of “the second coming of Jesus.” Not included in the theistic category was another 3% who described Easter as a celebration of spring or a pagan holiday. Barna Research Archives
What did Jesus say in Mathew 28:18-20? - This begins in your backyard with your local community. Your church can send missionaries to the ends of the earth. Still, you are missing your most significant opportunity if you do not invite your local community to church.
REASON #2 People Will Not Attend Your Church This Easter - They Don't Care
Many in your community don't care about church, let alone Easter Sunday. To them, Easter is a lovely holiday; the story of the cross is just a story, and they do not understand the importance of salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
You could take the stance that if they don't care about church, you don't care about them. Why spend money or time reaching out to them? People are messy, right? And they take a lot of work. If your church grew by 10% this year, you might have to hire more staff and even add another sermon time to Sunday. To quote a famous country song. "I don't think Jesus done it that way."
Neutral is not a luxury churches can have in 2024. Years ago, going to church was just what we did on Sunday. Today, you are fighting the counter-church culture every day. Your church is either growing or in decline.
REASON #3 People Will Not Attend Your Church This Easter - They Will Go Somewhere Else.
There will be people who will attend church this Easter that may have never attended. There will be formerly churched people who decide to give it another try. Some people will come because they received a postcard in the mail or may have seen an advertisement on social media. Some may attend because a friend or relative invited them, and Easter Sunday is always a day for that. But make no mistake, there will be an influx of new people visiting churches on Easter Sunday. The question is what brought them there.
I want to preface this by saying there is a specific strategy to not marketing to your local community on Easter Sunday. Many clients of ours choose to reach out with invitations after Easter. Or early New Year or the fall, with a specific sermon series that resonates with a felt need their local community may have. The important thing is they are reaching out to their neighbors and fulfilling The Great Commission.
John Squiric
COO Truth Advertising
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32
"Successful Church Marketing is not about products or measuring numbers in the seats. Successful Church Marketing is about people and using biblical principles to attract them to church and ultimately bring them into a relationship with Jesus."