Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, rivals the week of Christmas as the busiest year in the church calendar for most pastors and church leaders. A week that, for congregants, is marked by remembrance and worship, can often be marked by long, stressful days for church staff and even lay leaders.
As we start this Easter week, let’s be sure that we take time to slow down and open our hands before the Lord before they quickly get so full of tasks that we neglect to connect with the God we are leading others to worship and serve.
If your head is already spinning, full of thoughts and ideas of how to make the most of this Easter, stop and pray these prayers today and perhaps at the beginning of each day this week:
1. “Soften my heart to hear the gospel afresh this weekend.”
“Professional Christians” like pastors and church staff are at as much risk as anyone to become so familiar with the gospel that it stops moving us. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ lived the perfect life we could not live, died the sinner’s death we should die, and rose from the dead so that death wouldn’t have the final word for those who trust in Him. This good news changes everything! But before we can expect it to change the lives of the people in our churches, we have to remember it for ourselves. Rest and rejoice in the finished work of Christ this week, even as you press on the gas and do the ministry He has called you to do.
2. “Empower and sustain our staff and volunteers to image Christ among those they serve.”
Your team of both paid staff and unpaid volunteers is going to be stretched this week. You’re likely asking them to work long hours or serve multiple shifts in the parking lot or children’s ministry. Pray for them and that they would not just “get through it,” but would see their service as an act of worship. The way our staff and volunteers serve this weekend should be a tangible representation of the gospel that is preached from the front of the room. Pray toward that end.
3. “Give the skeptical and unsure the courage to walk through our doors.”
Somewhere in your community, someone is weighing whether or not to come to church this Sunday, perhaps for the first time ever, or the first time since their divorce, or the first time since tragedy struck. They may be nervous, cynical, or have some church hurt in their past. Your inviter cards and social media posts may not have hit their mailboxes or feeds, but you can pray for them. Ask God to do what only He can do–draw people to Himself through your church and the Christlike love of your church family.
4. “Prepare my heart for the unexpected and the surprising; help me rely on the Holy Spirit, not my plans.”
Every Easter weekend has some kind of ministry moment you couldn’t have expected. Someone approaches the teaching pastor after the sermon to share how it convicted them of a long-hidden sin. A first-time guest accepts Christ after chatting with a parking lot attendant. Some kind of tech issue leads to unplanned a cappella worship. As you meticulously plan for Easter weekend, ask God to open your hands and your heart to embrace the unexpected and rely on the Holy Spirit amidst it all.
5. “Bless our attempts at follow-up and make it the beginning of real discipleship rooted in the finished work of Christ.”
Easter weekend may be the finish line for someone’s life before Christ, but that just means it’s the starting point of life with Christ. The people you minister to this weekend will hear the gospel preached and see it lived out in the halls of the church, but the ministry does not stop there. Pray that God would give you the perseverance to follow up with every single person who needs it, and that he would open hearts to receive that follow-up ministry as the beginning of a beautiful new relationship.
Easter Weekend Starts Now
Your church may not be hosting services until later this week, but your Easter weekend ministry starts now, by bathing the weekend in prayer with all plans and expectations laid at the feet of the Savior we’re celebrating. Take some time this week to weave these prayers into the rhythms of your long, tiring days. Start each day with prayer, not the top item on your to-do list, and trust God to work in ways you don’t expect.
