Easter predictably brings a spike in church attendance, and with that spike comes responsibility for the church. We need to remember that times of high attendance are times of high opportunity. How do we not miss the opportunity to carry the momentum of Easter beyond the weekend? For those who hear the Easter message, what is our clear next step to ensure that we are taking people from decision to formation?
Put simply, Easter brings people in, but it’s groups that help them stay.
We believe the best way to launch new groups is by offering a post-Easter round of Rooted. Now is the time to be planning for that season of Rooted, and you can do so with these four steps:
1. Finalize Your Rooted Start Date Before Easter
Take a look at the church calendar and finalize your start date now. Are you starting the week after Easter, or two weeks after? What makes the most sense for our Post-Easter Rooted Kickoff with the Rooted Celebration, which happens after ten weeks? Putting these key dates on the calendar solidifies commitment and forces accountability.
2. Recruit Leaders Now
If you don’t have Rooted facilitators in your leadership pipeline ready to go, begin recruiting now. Ask your staff which of their volunteers would benefit and grow from leading a round of Rooted. Reach out to your existing small group leaders and ask them who in their groups would make a great leader and should launch a group out of Rooted. Send a message to every Rooted graduate from previous rounds to see who might be ready to facilitate a group. Keep in mind, those who say “not this round” might say “yes” to your fall round of Rooted.
3. Announce During Every Easter Service
The most effective way to get someone to take the best next step after Easter is to make sure and clearly communicate what that one next step is. For holidays, less is more when it comes to our announcement time. It’s a best practice to make only one announcement as opposed to multiple announcements about various upcoming events. One clear next step gets more results than five, and at Easter, that announcement should be Rooted in order to start someone’s discipleship journey in community through our church. Have that slide ready with clear, easy next steps for immediate registration.
4. Offer a Clear Next Step / Information Table in the Lobby
Have experienced Rooted volunteers in the lobby ready to discuss Rooted, share their personal Rooted testimony, and help people register for Rooted before they leave for Easter lunch. Momentum fades quickly, let’s steward it well.
Don’t just give people the life-changing message of Easter this year; give them a pathway to live it out. Start planning today to disciple your congregation after Easter. Order resources to have in time for distribution.
