Lasers For Easter

I had no part in the thought or planning process that brought about what happened at North Point Church on Easter. Therefore, I cannot tell you the inside reasoning on why a church would lure people to its Easter services with lasers and giveaways. What I can tell you is why it was a pretty good idea.

Here's the background. A few weeks ago, Pastor Tommy began hinting of a laser show for the Easter services. As the days drew closer, there was even talk of some big ticket giveaways, and cotton candy for the kids.

Minus the church, that sounds like a pretty good party. Add the church, and you have a recipe for evangelism.

My church will undoubtedly draw some criticism for its out-of-the-box Easter celebration. We did last year when the Easter service was built around a movie theme. So, it's a safe bet the critics will have something to say again.

I'll admit that my first reaction to hearing there would be a laser show was one of skepticism. After all, who ever heard of Easter being celebrated with lasers. But, the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that the Church today could stand a healthy dose of out-of-the-box ideas.

You see, so often, we develop our church services and activities around people who already are in the church. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with doing stuff for the people in your congregation, but there is a nasty side-effect. Over time, the church becomes more of an insider's club where those already in the church know how everything is supposed to work, but newcomers don't have a chance of getting it. History has shown that once a church becomes a club, evangelism faulters.

To counter this tendency to focus inward, church leaders need to look for ways to get their congregations out of their comfort zones while also attracting people who don't attend church. For North Point, this meant lasers, giveaways and cotton candy for Easter.

Now, I would imagine that NPC will also draw complaints that the lasers, lights and live band are more entertainment than they are spiritual. (Side issue: What are cantatas? Nothing more than entertainment designed to attract a crowd. Nothing wrong with it, but let's not get overly critical of having entertaining services.) If that's your argument, I'd caution you to be careful.

• David danced before the Lord to the point that his clothing was falling off. Michal didn't think that was very spiritual.
• Everything Jesus did was outside the norm for the religious crowd. People flocked to Him to see the show and hear his teaching. Jealous, religious people killed Him.
• If that's not enough for you, Revelation 19 suggests that what will be going on in Heaven will make Easter lasers seem like dim flashlights.

The point isn't to do a cool show for entertainment sake. Lasers, giveaways and candy were tools used to evangelize. They were used to get people to come who normally wouldn't set foot inside a church. In the end, NPC doubled its regular attendance over seven services on Saturday and Sunday. And, more importantly, 165 people made decisions for Christ.

Now, if you're still skeptical of lasers for Easter, ask those 165 who are now committed to Jesus whether it was worth it. They will be part of that Revelation 19 crowd one day, and for some of them, it was the lure of something out-of-the-box that got them to hear a message about Jesus.