Kids love Easter egg hunting, but does that mean we should have one at church? This is an issue our pastoral staff has been working through over the past several years. My first year at the church, I carried forward their existing program called Easter EGGstravaganza.
Check our special page featuring Easter Ideas for Children’s Ministry.
It was a Saturday morning Easter egg hunt that doubled as a massive outreach effort. We did the works – door prizes, crafts, resurrection eggs, and more tubs of stuffed plastic eggs than I care to remember. The event took weeks of planning and a full roster of volunteers to make it happen. We mailed postcards to 500 households with children. The publicity budget for the event was close to the VBS level.
Turnout was great and everyone had a wonderful time. There was only one problem – the event did not meet its goals. No prospects from that group visited our church for Easter. None of the children were enrolled in our Wednesday nightclub program. None of the follow up efforts showed any promise. Six months later all I could show was a mailing list for future ministry events.
That was the end for EGGstravaganza. In fact, we haven’t had any Easter egg hunt since then. For me, it wasn’t a theological decision as much as a programming choice. Our resources are better directed toward events that advance the church’s disciple making mission.
What do you think about Easter egg hunts at church?
Do you see it as a helpful outreach tool? Are you concerned about detracting from the real meaning of Easter? Leave a comment below and join the conversation.
Update: We’ve developed several resources to help you with Easter Egg events and keeping them Christ-centered. To begin, you can watch this video on making Resurrection Eggs. Nicole has written about hosting a “Backward Easter Egg Hunt.” Jen Rhine has developed a Gospel booklet for families to use alongside the traditional event. Or you may enjoy the alternative Easter Poem using M&M’s.
I see this more and more in Churches which I am ashamed! I know I’m traditional about such things as this, but I don’t believe it honors the Lord in any way. My father was a pastor for many years and never would he have approved of such! Let’s keep the Lord’s Day free from the world’s ideas and advertisement.
do away with it all together and focus on the resurrection of JESUS CHRIST ONLY.
eggs, bunny’s and easter egg hunts are pagan and should not be recognized as having anything to do with the christian church.
Colossians 2:8 ESV
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
We as a family do not want to attend any Christain church the has a Halloween , Santa Claus , or Easter egg hunt. Sadly as a result we do not have a church to attend. I wish we could find a church that the wonderful offer of salvation is enough to bring in the lost . That is the only way any of my friends & family were ever saved. It was not by attend a pagan activity at a local Christain church.
Why we stopped doing Easter egg hunts was because everyone is doing them. Churches, communities, businesses, and people doing their own.
Then you have each place out doing each other with cooler prizes and more eggs.
It came down to why are we doing this? Kids even in our own church were going to multiple egg hunts.
I agree with Betty. It also makes me ashamed to even go to church on “Easter Sunday” … when, frankly, the ‘Easter Egg Hunt’ seems to take precedence over the true meaning of Easter.