Well, we?re all in the middle of it now, aren?t we? This is only my second Easter on staff here at my church, but I must say I?m kind of enjoying the insanity, and I think I know why: I?m thrilled with everything we?re working on.
Our creative team has been working on new videos, a huge art element for our foyer, a new email newsletter design, new signage, and more to go along with the customarily amazing Easter message and worship set. There?s something ? or rather, some things ? about Easter that brings out the best in a church creative team, and I think I put my finger on a few of them:
There?s a due date, and we don?t get to set it.?
Easter is established and printed on the calendar every year whether we like it or not. (Note: You should probably like it.) What I mean to say is that Easter is something we?ve inherited from the church that preceded us ??we didn?t choose it and we don?t get to tinker with the rhythm of it. It?s on the calendar, it?s coming, and all we can do is prepare and celebrate accordingly.
There?s a due date, and we don?t get to move it.
How many creative projects miss their original due date? A ton, right? I think Easter brings out the best in us because we can?t slide the due date back a few weeks ??we have to dream, plan, and execute in a timely manner, balancing creativity and practicality. The occasion makes us want to push ourselves, but the due date requires us to rein ourselves in at the same time. Meanwhile that new website we?ve been working towards drags on and on and on.
We know we?ll have guests.
Easter Sunday is not business as usual. Depending on the size of your church, your attendance will swell by hundreds or thousands of people who weren?t there on the 13th and may not be back on the 27th. We sense the significance of this opportunity, so we think carefully about the guest experience. We think carefully about tone, insider language, and next steps. We go the extra mile to reach out, to make an impression, and connect with people because we?re more acutely aware of our audience.
The story.
This is what it?s really all about, obviously. Easter isn?t a random holiday like Arbor Day or Talk Like a Pirate Day ? it?s the central event in our history. It?s the commemoration of a world-changing, life-giving set of events, the culmination of the story we begin at Christmas every year, and it?s all baked into this day. We don?t have to grasp at the meaning or significance of the day; we simply have to give voice to it and invite people into it.
We?re just a few days away from what promises to be another great Easter, so keep at it. All the hard work you?re putting in is worth it, and it?s bringing out the best in you and your team.
