Last-Minute Easter Program Ideas for Small Churches

This guide is full of creative, low-cost, and easy-to-implement Easter program ideas that can bring the message of hope and resurrection to life, even when time and resources are scarce

Breeze Church Management

Digital giving apps and tools

Easter is a time of joyful celebration in the Christian calendar, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's an opportunity for churches to come together, reflecting on the profound spiritual significance of this holy event.

Yet, for small churches, the Easter season can also bring a whirlwind of challenges, especially when it comes to putting together meaningful and engaging programs at the last minute.

Whether due to budget constraints, limited volunteer availability, or simply the hustle and bustle that this season brings, finding ways to celebrate Easter meaningfully doesn't have to be a daunting task.

This guide is full of creative, low-cost, and easy-to-implement Easter program ideas that can bring the message of hope and resurrection to life, even when time and resources are scarce.

Easter Program Ideas For Small Churches

Have A Sunrise Service

A sunrise service on Easter morning can be incredibly meaningful to church members. The sunrise symbolizes the hope and new life that Easter represents. This type of service can include a time of worship, prayer, scripture readings, and a short message.  Consider holding the service outdoors to fully embrace the beauty of the sunrise.

Host An Easter Brunch

After the sunrise service, you can invite everyone to stay and enjoy a delicious Easter brunch. This can be a great time for fellowship and community building. Encourage church members to bring their favorite breakfast dishes to share with others.

Decorate The Church

Decorating the church is a great way to create an uplifting and joyful atmosphere for Easter. Incorporate bright colors, fresh flowers, and Easter-themed decorations throughout the church. Also, consider involving members of the congregation in making homemade decorations or setting up displays that showcase the true meaning of Easter.

Have A Family-Friendly Egg Hunt

Easter egg hunts are a fun tradition for families with young children. Consider hosting an egg hunt on your church grounds for families in your community. Hide eggs filled with candy and encourage families to bring their own baskets or bags.

You can also include a short devotional or message about the true meaning of Easter before starting the hunt.

Incorporate Easter-Themed Music

Worship music can play a significant role in enhancing the Easter experience for church members. Include traditional hymns as well as contemporary worship songs that celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Additionally, you may want to involve a choir or have special musical performances during the service.

Some songs to include in your Easter service may include:

  • Because He Lives
  • Christ The Lord Is Risen Today
  • Amazing Grace
  • Jesus Paid It All
  • Blessed Assurance
  • Forever (We Sing Hallelujah)
  • Glorious Day
  • In Christ Alone
  • God Is Alive
  • Great Are You Lord
  • He Lives
  • Hope Is Alive
  • How Deep The Father's Love For Us
  • I Will Rise
  • O Praise The Name (Anastasis)
  • Raised To Life

Plan A Community Outreach Event

Easter is a great opportunity to reach out to your community and share the love of Christ with others. Consider organizing an event such as a free community Easter egg hunt, a meal for the homeless, or a service project in your neighborhood. This not only brings people together but also shows them the love of Christ through your actions.

Create Space For Reflection

Easter is a time for celebration, but it's also important to create space for reflection and introspection. You may want to set up a designated area in your church where people can come and pray, journal, or simply sit in silence before or after the service. This allows individuals to pause and reflect on the significance of Easter and their own personal faith journey.

You can also provide resources such as prayer guides or prompts for journaling to help guide people in their reflection time.

Involve Children In The Service

Easter is a family-friendly holiday, so it's important to involve children in the service and make it accessible for them. It can be valuable to have a special children's message during the service or provide activity sheets related to Easter for them to complete during the service.

This helps children to engage with the message and understand the significance of Easter in a way that is appropriate for their age.

Reach Out To The Elderly And Homebound

Easter can be a lonely time for those who are unable to attend church due to health or mobility issues. Consider reaching out to the elderly and homebound members of your community through phone calls, visits, or sending them a care package with Easter treats and a card expressing your love and prayers for them.

Even a small gesture like this can bring joy and comfort to those who may be feeling isolated during this holiday.

Put On An Easter Play

For those who enjoy theatre and drama, an Easter play can be a powerful way to convey the message of Jesus' resurrection. This can involve members of your congregation or even the community, providing an opportunity for people to come together and participate in a creative and meaningful production.

An Easter play can also attract new members and engage those who may not typically attend church services.

Easy-to-use Church Management Software

Start using powerful, yet intuitive, church management software that's been designed to help you save time, reduce frustration, and accomplish your church's goals.

Start a Free Trial of Breeze

Create An Inspirational Video

It's easier than ever to create inspirational, meaningful videos using only a smartphone. If you have the time and resources, a short video that shares the message of Easter in a creative and visually appealing way can be very powerful. This can be shared on social media, your church's website, or shown during the service to enhance the worship experience.

Another option is to invite members of your congregation to contribute their own videos or testimonies related to Easter, making it a collaborative effort.

Do Giveaways And Contests

Everyone loves a good giveaway or contest, especially when it involves something special for Easter. One option is to host an egg decorating competition, with prizes for the most creative or unique designs.

You can also do a raffle or giveaway for Easter baskets filled with treats and small gifts. This not only adds excitement to your church's Easter celebration but also provides an opportunity to connect with members of your community and show them the love and generosity of your congregation.

Incorporate Art By Church Members

If you have artists among your church members, invite them to create artwork that reflects the message of Easter. This can be displayed throughout the church or used as cover art for your church's Easter service program.

This is a great way to showcase the talents of your congregation and add a personal and meaningful touch to your Easter celebrations.

Have A Community Photo Booth

Set up a photo booth before or after your Easter service for members of the church and community to take fun, festive pictures. You can use props like bunny ears, Easter baskets, and signs with inspirational quotes related to Easter.

These photos can be shared on social media using a specific hashtag, which also helps spread the message of Easter beyond just your local community.

Create A Signable Wall Display

Set up a large canvas or board and encourage members of your congregation to write down their favorite Easter Bible verses, prayers, or personal reflections. This can be displayed in the church as a visual reminder of the significance of Easter and how it impacts individuals.

It also allows members to share their faith and inspire others through their words.

Do A Water Baptism

Water baptism symbolizes going from death to life, making it a perfect thing to include in your Easter service. It also serves as a powerful reminder of the resurrection of Jesus.

Encourage members who have recently accepted Christ or rededicated their lives to participate in this special ceremony.

Follow Up With Guests

Easter Sunday is often when people who don't regularly attend church will visit. Make sure to have a team in place to warmly welcome them and provide information about your church, including upcoming events and ways to get involved.

Follow up with guests after Easter by sending a thank you note or inviting them back for future services.

If you need help managing the visitors to your church, consider using a Church Management Software (ChMS) like Breeze. It allows you to easily capture contact information from visitors and track their engagement with your church.

Final Thoughts

You don't have to have a massive budget or a huge number of volunteers to make Easter special at your church. By focusing on the core message of Easter and creating meaningful experiences, you can create an impactful service that will leave a lasting impression on your congregation.

Whatever you do, remember to put Jesus at the center of everything and allow His love and sacrifice to shine through in all aspects of your Easter service.

Discover how our Groups tool can help you organize and manage one-on-one meetings effectively.

Explore Groups Tool

Looking for an easy-to-use software to help manage your church?

We'd love to show you what we built!

Join 10,000+ happy churches using Breeze ChMS™.

Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
David P.
loves Breeze
St. Pauls United Methodist Church

Breeze has been incredible. Their customer service, commitment to innovation, and their product are top-notch. I love the features, the ease of use and the mobile applications.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Karen M.
loves Breeze
Hillcrest Church

All of our database needs have been more than met, it's easier to use than the last database we had, and the price is amazing - what a value this has been to our church! All of our staff can use this software and they do regularly. We use it to track…literally anything a church could possibly need to track regarding it's attenders.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Chris K.
loves Breeze
Crossroads United Methodist Church

Breeze has been a great asset to our church and congregation. Especially from an administrative standpoint, it has been the most adaptable and easiest church database I have ever used. The features from blast emails to giving on-line, and texting have been one of our greatest assets. Thank you!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ed R.
loves Breeze
Church Admin

We switched from a major, web-based ChMS to Breeze and our decision is confirmed every day. We are a medium size church and we use Breeze for contributions, member management, event checkin and a few other applications custom to our church. I had trouble getting any staff to use our previous ChMS but almost all staff are using Breeze. The product is very well designed, extremely easy to learn and use and customer service is incredible.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ellen G.
loves Breeze
Grace Church

Breeze has opened the communication highway for our congregation and staff, with very little training. Because members can update their own records and search easily for other members - and map their locations, send emails and text right from Breeze, they love it and our data is more real-time accurate. Our ministries are stronger, because they can trust the data in Breeze, which is easily accessed anywhere, anytime.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Steve H.
loves Breeze
First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey

Breeze is the first ChMS my volunteers have actually embraced. That's because it's so easy to use. The software is very flexible and gives us the opportunity to make decisions based on actual data we've collected and not just hunches or stories we believe to be true.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Allicia B.
loves Breeze
Ellel Ministries Canada

I cannot say enough about Breeze. Their customer service is so friendly, you feel like you have friends and family helping you get started, they're prompt to reply and will do whatever they can to help you get things sorted out. It's been so easy to learn, our staff is loving it and best of all even our staff who are not computer savvy find it a breeze (pun intended). We are just thrilled by our choice.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Kevin D.
loves Breeze
Central Baptist Church

From the start of our process looking for an online solution, Breeze has exceeded all our expectations. Fast data import, fast and friendly customer support, and we can’t say enough about how much we like the program itself. Very well designed and user friendly. On a scale of 1-10, Breeze gets a 15 from us!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!

Rated 4.9 stars – 700+ reviews