EmailKids 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.
Related posts:
- Easter Sunday School Lessons
- Free Easter Crafts Ideas for Sunday School
- Bible Verses About Easter
- Forum: Christians, Halloween & Kids
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Here is a much better idea, and it is biblical: celebrate the Passover instead with your family, specifically by conducting a Passover Seder and using a Haggadah (Order of service for the Seder) which is Christian/Messianic and illuminates how Jesus is portrayed in the elements of the Seder. This ancient and biblical practice is MUCH MORE effective in teaching your children about the meaning of the season (our deliverance from bondage and slavery due to the blood and sacrifice of the Passover Lamb) than Easter bunnies and eggs. It’s time for the Church to shed all of this pagan nonsense which was infused centuries ago in an effort to win more pagan converts… problem was, the Church allowed those pagans to keep all of their pagan traditions, and now we have this mess today of mixing Easter bunnies and eggs with the Resurrection of our Lord.
A great alternative to hunting for eggs is to have the kids hunt for pieces of LEAVEN that the mother of the house hides in the days preceding Passover. In Jewish homes, the mothers rid the home of all traces of leaven, which is symbolic of sin in the Bible. What a great illustration for our kids, to teach them that we need to search out the “leaven” in our own lives in preparation of the coming of our Passover Lamb. Once all of the leaven is found (usually 10 pieces), it is custom to burn it.
Neither I nor my family get any spiritual fulfillment by celebrating Messiah’s resurrection with eggs and bunnies. It should tell us something when most of the unbelieving world does the exact same thing (I even have an atheist brother-in-law who celebrates Easter!!!) The Church needs to be more aggressive in not allowing these things to go on any longer. Take a stand, don’t be afraid. God has already given us His Feasts (7 in total) which all point directly to Messiah and are wonderful portrayals of what He has done for us. It’s sad that the Church has drifted so far from its roots that we now accept pagan traditions in lieu of beautiful biblical traditions. Though, I have seen a lot more churches move toward this more biblical mindset, with positive results. I even went to a Passover Seder recently hosted by a Baptist church that had over 400 people in attendance!!! Now that is encouraging!
What about a whole new kind of Easter egg hunt? One that focuses on the real reason we celebrate Easter. I wrote about it here: http://www.cornerstonesforparents.com/different-easter-egg-hunt. It can be a wonderful opportunity for sharing the gospel. Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Lets be honest, they are getting information from everywhere. At school they learn about the Easter bunny and all that. They don’t need more of the same at church where we are supposed to be teaching truth. As for my children, I don’t intend to lie to them and that includes Easter bunnies and Santa Clauses. However my friend did have an egg hunt and the kids loved it. We didn’t do this at church and the kids weren’t lied to, they knew that the adults were the ones who hid the eggs. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that nor do I think God finds anything wrong with that.
I have never in 10 years as a Children’s Pastor considered doing an Easter Egg hunt. I can see where this type of event would draw others in, and give us an opportunity to share the Gospel.
Is this an “in the world, not of the world” thing? I think I’ll chalk this one up to personal conviction.
I have to agree with those that have talked about the pagan worship and how we as Christians should not succumb to the world’s list of pagan idolatry. I don’t believe God is pleased because children are enjoying themselves and it seems like innocent fun. He didn’t like idol worship in the Bible and He doesn’t like it now because we think it’s cute or because we have changed the meaning of what the holiday represents.
Sorry if this sounds too harsh as it’s not the way I’m trying to come off. However, I just desire so much for our brothers and sisters in Christ to not get so caught up in the pagan traditions of men…Halloween, Santa Claus, Easter Bunnies etc…. We have to begin to search out the history for the things that we teach our children and that we participate in ourselves, not just through the resources we have on the internet but through the first and foremost essential piece of living…the Bible. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
I pray this has not offended anyone but that it has helped to shed light on this issue.
Here is a great article to help… http://m.ucg.org/holidays-and-holy-days/christians-who-dont-celebrate-easter-what-do-they-know/
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