Happy Easter!

Christ has risen, but in some churches, there's no joy. We smile, greet one another, but there hasn't been any joy there in years. The choir sings the same songs as years past, with all the same people. There was an egg hunt, but only the existing members' kids came.

What happened? The staff put a notice in the bulletin, asked the people to invite their neighbors, and even prayed for visitors to somehow find their way to their particular facility. They did everything right, according to the church operations manual of 1959.

Trouble is, the 20th century is gone. The stuff that used to work doesn't any more. I would dare say while most churches preached their most evangelistic service of the year, few salvations were recorded. Seeds were sown, but the harvest comes out of relationship.

The churches that were full one Easter were the ones out meeting the neighbors weeks before, trying to stay up with the forms of the culture without compromizing the message. They took the egg hunt to the apartment complex, the held movie night (how many churches showed the Passion this week?), and talked to everybody they knew about coming to church this week. These are the churches that will contact - by phone, letter and in person - every new person that came on Easter, and every other week.

Successful churches know it's all about relationship, not programs.