Why not use a ministry of chocolate to connect with the people in their community. We heard of one church that did this to great success! Stephen, the organiser, said: “The original idea was just to do something that would bless the people in our town.”
They began by using community social media groups to ask anyone who would like a free Easter egg to sign up. On Easter Sunday morning, a team of fun-filled church members (some dressed as Easter bunnies!) dropped off hundreds of Easter eggs around the town, along with information about the church.
The idea then took off and grew!
In the first year they used supermarket Easter eggs, which led to them being able to share something of the Christian message with the manager of the shop who asked them why they were buying all the eggs and who they were for. In subsequent years they have used the Real Easter Egg Company, which includes the Easter story in the box. It cost the church about £400 for all the eggs and the leaflets each time they did it. It took Stephen several evenings of planning and organising too, but the delivery was all done in one morning.
The response of people all over their town was so positive that the church pushed on in later years, finding some brilliant Easter leaflets from 10ofThose to add to the little package being delivered by their Easter-bunny costumed volunteers. These volunteers were each provided with a bag of Easter eggs, the Easter leaflets and Google Map directions for all the people who had signed up to receive them. The rest was simple and lots of fun.
Later in the year, the church realised that their ministry of chocolate would be a brilliant way of inviting people to their Christmas services and events. This time though, the Advent Calendars they gave out contained the Christmas story along with some very yummy Fairtrade chocolate. (Also, their Easter Bunny costumes were shelved in favour of Elves and Santa Suits!) By taking Jesus seriously but not taking themselves too seriously, they created a stir, drew people to their Christmas events and gently shared the story of Jesus with their community.
Pray: Dear Jesus, please help us to find imaginative, generous and welcoming ways to share your love and your gospel with those around us.
Previously: Launch Pad #12 Join a Club or Group Outside the Church
Next: Launch Pad #14 Create a Welcoming Impression of Church
