It looks like Easter ’09 will go down as “that one where those churches got tired of helicopter egg drops and went totally nuts.” This one comes to you from A Little Leaven, and my impression is they aren’t too friendly to innovative marketing ideas over there.
One church is encouraging you to ditch church on Easter. They even put together a little number at ditchchurch.com to encourage you to join them. Instead of church services, they’ll just be having a big party. At 10:00 a.m. On Sunday morning. At a school.
After a significant amount of digging, it appears that this is being put on by Crossroads (or Cross Roads, this is apparently still up for debate). Perhaps the idea has legs, but it seems the execution is just a little bit shaky. I think they could have used some help from the Party Planning Committee.
I’m shivering as I ask this, but what say you? Will you be ditching church? Should we be encouraging the ditching of church in general?
Eric Granata
April 9, 2009
I consider myself pretty hip to the scene and have been a part of a church for years that many would consider unorthodox. However, I do think there is room in Christianity for stuff like liturgy, and tradition (minus the new dress and hat). Participating in Holy Week events at my church is one of them.
I can’t help but worry that by introducing potential converts to Christianity with something as, at least on the surface, irreverent as a party with the premise that we’re ditching church because church sucks, we are setting those individuals up for failure and disappointment when they realize that being a Christian often involves some nasty stuff like Hell, death of self, accountability, etc.
No. Ditching church should not be encouraged.
Kevin Purcell
April 9, 2009
Looks like bait and switch to me unless they plan to ditch church every week. If I was a non-church going person and fell for that, I’d be pretty ticked off when I showed up the next week and there wasn’t another party.
Shannon
April 9, 2009
Maybe I’m missing something, but a bunch of Christians getting together on Easter Sunday to celebrate sounds an awful lot like church to me. I’m not sure it’s really “ditching church” any more than going on a field trip is “ditching school.”
Jeremy Anderson
April 9, 2009
Cute, but… lame. Have the party the rest of the year and it’s notable. Have it once on a day when new people will come… and it’s a gimmick.
swen
April 9, 2009
Sounds like one of those “church for people who don’t do church” things…which isn’t always a bad thing.
Matthew P. Block
April 9, 2009
Or we could all go to the theater, oops I mean church and watch a movie, oops I mean Easter in 3-D. http://matthewblock.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/experience-easter-in-3-d11/
I can’t decide which one I think is a worse gimmick.
Ted
April 9, 2009
Instead of a gimmick campaign, my church is busy shooting interviews and stories for a promotional DVD, to be handed out by our congregation and interns to strangers, family and co-workers.
One-on-one is the only thing that will grow the kingdom, and now our people will finally have something worth handing out. People in the church WILL get involved if you GIVE THEM something to work with that’s not CRAP.
Dennis Ray
April 9, 2009
These people are complete idiots! I have been reading these blogs from these so called “super creatives” that are nothing more than a bunch marketing shock jocks who have chosen the church as their latest product. What ever happened to actually worshiping Jesus on Easter with God’s family without all these stupid gimmicks. From a pastors perspective it is embarrassing to me that we think we have to “jazz-up” Jesus to make Him more attractive. I have an idea… how about we pray, preach the Word of God with passion and integrity, serve our communities, and worship together while we love each other like a family. Maybe…just maybe, that will be attractive to a world that is desperate for a place to belong.
Alison
April 10, 2009
I think that ditching church can be a good idea if properly framed. Dont go to church – be the church.
Check out http://www.putyourfaithinaction.org
Lindsay
April 10, 2009
We’re ditching church on Easter this year. Well, sort of. We’re still having service but not in our church building. I know a lot of churches that go off site for Easter services and that’s the only way people should me ditching church on Easter.
aaron
April 10, 2009
Anytime I hear of something like this I think back to something Craig Groeschel(lifechurch.tv) said in one of his vision messages. He said that they were going to do everything and anything, short of sin, to reach people for Jesus. Is it a sin to not have Easter service on Easter? I don’t think so. How about a church going out and serving the community on Easter; would that be a sin? I think this sounds like anything short of sin to me. You can honor God on Easter in many ways.
Envelope Printing
April 14, 2009
In the end, it’s all about what you believe and practicing your faith. If going to Church on Easter Sunday is how you practice your belief then be it. If not, and you’ll be going there just because you have to, then what’s the point right?
Huw Tyler
April 16, 2009
Nice idea, just a bit short sighted.
Great! Lets celebrate Easter, lets get all excited about it but isn’t this completely missing the point of evangelism and outreach?
We’ve read posts on here that more people go to church on Easter than at Christmas… the one day of the year that the people come to church and no one’s there! No welcomers, less of a party in the church.
If this party is a success by its own measure, then no one would be in church!
Jailer
April 24, 2009
I was pretty outspoken in my opposition to the “Ditch Church” event, because I think that taking cheap shots at the rest of the “visible church” makes for shabby and negative evangelism.
http://philippianjailer.blogspot.com/2009/04/church-of-church-ditchers.html
Mark
May 8, 2009
Many people missed the point here, including the philipianjailer.
This was an invitation to those who don’t attend church already…to those “who have been ditching church for days or decades” as quoted from the website and postcards. The Easter party that was hosted by this church was a giant success for the kingdom of heaven if you would like to know! The High School auditorium was full of Christ followers as well as the unchurched and dechurched. The celebration through praise and worship was incredible, God’s Spirit was there, the Word was presented and the altars were packed with people giving their lives to Christ.
When will the “church” understand that the unchurched and dechurched aren’t listening to their “christianeze” anymore, they have shut their ears off. The current language spoken by much of the church today needs translated so the lost can actually hear the Word! That is what I find Jesus doing in the Gospels…speaking a heavenly kingdom language via an understandable format. The attacks on some blogs directed at this church’s intentions has been ridiculous at best and has proven the need for additional dialogue in regards to the secondary issue that the website addressed. We found just a few people who were actually willing and able to hold a conversation without lashing out…to those individuals we applaud you whether we arrive at a consensus or not. The institution of church that many of us experience today is not the church Jesus established on the day of Pentecost. According to Jesus the “Church” should think and act Kingdom minded. People are going to hell and dying without a Savior on a daily basis and yet here we have keyboard commandos arguing and bickering about semantics while probably never laying hands and pray for God’s healing with a deaf man standing in Costco. You may have strong words in regards to how you think the gospel should be presented but when confronted with “what are you doing to advance the kingdom?” you have NO reply.
My hat is off to those who are in the trenches living the great commission. Those who are preaching good news to the poor, proclaiming freedom to prisoners, setting captives free, releasing the oppressed and declaring the Lord’s favor! That message sounds remarkably familiar and it sounds like a Jubilee party to me!
I’m certain that you haven’t heard the last from ditchchurch.com and I would like to know, when is the next party?
Mark
May 8, 2009
Shannon,
By the way, the party started at the beginning of the year and continues on. Kind of like the song that never ends… LOL
church evangelism ideas
August 17, 2009
Ouch… I think this “outreach idea” has gone a little nuts. I think a party is great… but why just party on a day they come to church EXPECTING a message?!