Easter - Next Generation Ministry

Most churches capitalize on the holidays by hosting events such as a Christmas singing tree, a Trunk or Treat, or an Easter egg hunt. The reason for such events is to present the gospel to people who might not come to church otherwise. CEO “Christians” probably need to re-hear the gospel as well, that is “Christians” who attend church on Christmas and Easter Only.

This past Halloween, I was close to writing a post entitled, “Tract or Treat.” I have always liked to use this holiday in the Fall season to pass out gospel tracts while passing out candy treats. Whether it’s a “Bash at the Beach” or a “Day at the Park” (July 4^th), churches should use events on holidays to attract church member and non-member alike.

Since we are a couple of weeks away from Easter, I would like to give you a simple gospel presentation that I created which you may use to present to children and or youth at your Easter egg hunt event.

Besides all the eggs on the church lawn that are filled with candy, I am going to have a few prize eggs with a theme/verse inside. We call our hunt a “Search for the Truth” hunt. There will be four prize eggs with the themes: (1) Creation, (2) Fall, (3) Rescue, and (4) Restoration. As children open their eggs, I will ask children to find out who has the prize eggs, starting with the “Creation” egg. I will move down the line, presenting the gospel as I go.

Easter eggs are beautiful, aren’t they? Have you ever seen a real Easter egg, spiffied all up with various colors? Where do you think eggs come from? Who created all the colors that we have? Who gave man artistic abilities to the point where he could paint such an egg? GOD (“Creation”). God made us and we are more beautiful to him than any Easter egg we could imagine.

But what would you do, if you take the most beautiful Easter egg you can think of, and accidentally drop it on the ground. Crack! Eggs have to be handled carefully or else. Like a broken egg, our lives have been ruined because of sin. We have messed up and made a mess and left it on the floor for someone else to have to clean up. (“Fall”) – We need a Savior!

Ever heard of the personified egg, Humpty Dumpty? I’m sure you have . . . “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again.” I mean, what man can fix an egg once its broken. Sure, you can try to put the yoke back in a taped-up shell, but the cracks will still show. And you probably only got half the yoke back it. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t do it . . . why think you can? Only Jesus can clean up our mess. Only Jesus can fix our broken lives. Only Jesus can put us back together again. (“Rescue”)

And when he does, we look like that beautiful Easter egg that we started off with. No cracks, no scratches, just a masterpiece. Let God do to you what no man can. (“Restoration”)

This is a simple way to present the gospel to the next generation in a way that they can understand. Use the holidays, use every day to re-present the good news!

Share Jesus Without Freaking Out series post 4/8

Principle 4: God has sovereignly placed you in this world at this time with the abilities and gifts you have to bring glory to him and show the joy of the gospel to others.

This past Easter weekend, I helped two different churches conduct Easter egg hunts for their children. One church was my hometown church that I grew up in. The other church was the church I currently work at. The good news is that at both children events, the gospel was presented!

However, the approach to sharing the gospel differed at both respective churches. The Pastor of my hometown church started with Jesus and ended with Jesus. He asked the children and families in attendance what the real reason is that we celebrate Easter. One boy raised his hand and stumbled through describing the rescue part of the gospel. The Pastor said, “that’s right” and proceeded to describe the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I couldn’t help but listen and observe. I thought to myself about the number of the unchurched or never churched that were in attendance thinking to themselves, “who is Jesus?” and “what does he have to do with me?” In other words, listening to the Pastor describe Jesus for the first time would have felt like listening to a foreigner speaking in a different language.

The approach my hometown Pastor used would have been perfect for an American living in America in the 1950’s. When Peter spoke to the Jews in Jerusalem in Acts 2, he could start and end with Jesus because everyone knew of the Messiah and the Scriptures that spoke of Jesus. But in Acts 17 (same book), we find Paul at Mars Hill in Athens speaking to Gentiles. However, Paul didn’t start with Jesus, but rather with creation.

Dr. Reid says, “Today, we live in Athens, in a land without a biblical mind or a biblical grounding in who God is or how we can know him. Many if not most Americans, and people globally, start from a different place that a biblical vantage point as they live their lives . . . We can’t make the assumptions about people that we once did, like that they have some idea of the Bible in general or the gospel specifically.”

This is true. Oral storytelling of the gospel is used by missionaries to various cultures around the globe and most missionaries start with creation when they share the gospel story. But now, America needs to hear the gospel story told aloud, beginning at creation so that Americans can understand how the gospel story makes their “messed-up world” make sense. Remember, we as Christians have lost home-field advantage in America.

I like what Dr. Reid says next in his book Share Jesus Without Freaking Out: “We can more likely assume people think being Christian means doing more good things than bad, which is moralism, not the gospel. That’s why we have to engage people in conversations and show them how the whole gospel story relates to their stories, and how God’s work in Christ to rescue us is the key, not our works.”

So at my church’s Easter egg hunt, I gathered the children together in one place and presented the gospel. I said, “when you’re outside on this beautiful day collecting eggs, for one second, think of the God who made the grass, trees, etc (Creation). But as you look for the eggs, you will become frustrated, because our hider made finding the eggs very difficult (Fall). But my teenage friend will come to your side, your aid, and provide you with hints so that you can find the eggs. Likewise, Jesus came to your aid and rescued you and the world from the results of sin (Rescue)! As you find the lost eggs, the eggs will be restored to you in the same way that Jesus restores sinful man and a fallen world (Restoration).”

Read the two approaches again, place yourself in the shoes of a person who has never heard of Jesus, and tell me which message makes more sense. I literally live in Athens – Athens, GA that is. When I visit downtown, I see people of all different religions, ethnicities, and nationalities. For many of my downtown friends, starting a conversation with Jesus will lose them at first sound. It is important for you to work in the Rescue part of the gospel, but understand that at many times, it is best to present the gospel in bits and pieces.

Also, if you’re a next generation leader, think about your next church event and how you can work in the gospel. This Summer, my church plans to use a party trailer filled with games, a bouncy house, etc. for another children’s event. Just thinking to myself, what if I used the heat of the day to remind students of the fall or to at least think a second about hell and what if I used water to remind students of restoration or the bouncy house as a symbolic glimpse of heaven? The ideas are limitless . . . for your event!