Why We Host an Easter Egg Hunt

For many years, my family ministry has hosted an easter egg hunt for our neighborhood. Our church, The Journey - Tower Grove, sits across the street from one of our city's most beautiful parks, Tower Grove Park. Tower Grove Park is a great venue to host an Easter egg hunt and is a meeting spot for all sorts of people in our community.

“We host our Easter egg hunt at a meeting spot for all sorts of people in our community.”

Through the years I have many stories of how people have connected with our church through this event.

Here are a two good reasons to have an Easter egg hunt:

1. You can invite the neighborhood. 

There are many people in our neighborhood without a church home. The Easter egg hunt has been a front door to welcome them. One family who was going through a hard time were willing to come to the egg hunt with some of our church members. Only later did they come to church and receive pastoral care.

“Many people will not enter the doors of the church, but they will come to an Easter egg hunt.”

Reaching neighbors with the gospel is a core value for the church. But even growing churches have people who live nearby who are unchurched and do not have a relationship with Jesus. Many people will not enter into the doors of the church, but they will come to an egg hunt hosted by the church.

 In the gospels we see Jesus caring for all kinds of people. He had conversations with people whom the typical Jew wouldn't normally interact. After a brief conversation with Jesus, the woman at the well's life was changed forever. In every outreach effort, we pray for similar stories. The egg hunt provides a way for us to interact with neighbors whom many church members don't regularly see or have conversations.  It is an avenue for us to welcome others like Jesus welcomed us.

2. A tradition of celebration.

One of the reasons we host an Easter egg hunt is to have a party. Every year, we celebrate Jesus' resurrection. We don't want to keep it to ourselves! We want to celebrate with everyone who will party with us. This is why we invite our friends, our neighbors, and even the whole neighborhood around the church and park. Whether or not you are a churchgoer, most people are familiar with an Easter egg hunt.  

The event has helped to build a tradition of celebration for our church family and our neighborhood as well. One year, it was forty degrees and drizzling. We questioned whether we would have the hunt. We were on the brink of canceling, but we decided to push forward. When we got to the park, one neighbor told a volunteer they were concerned that we'd cancel, but, "I'm sure The Journey won't let us down." With a consistent egg hunt, we are building a confidence for our neighbors.

Our kids remember it too, and they expect to participate year after year. As our kids get excited about the egg hunt it creates more opportunities to talk about why we should be excited about Easter. We can show them that sharing the good news with others is a joy, and that loving and serving those around us is important. 

 Do you do an egg hunt at your church? Leave a comment below and tell us about it.