By the time you read this—just days before Easter—if you don’t already have your gear lined up, your rehearsals scheduled, and your tech ducks in a row…well, there’s not much I can offer at this point that’ll prevent a logistical scramble. But that’s not the point of this article anyway.
There’s no shortage of content published weeks ago full of practical advice, tech tips, service planning strategies, and helpful reminders. This isn’t one of those. If you’re mostly ready for the big week ahead, I’d like to shift gears and talk about what ministry leaders often call “the why behind the what.”
Easter is enormous in church world. The church I work with most closely has multiple services spanning from Palm Sunday, to Maundy Thursday, to Good Friday, and then four services celebrating Resurrection Sunday—including an outdoor sunrise service. And that’s not even counting the rehearsals and outfitting overflow spaces.
It’s demanding. It’s complex. It’s a production marathon for every worship leader, musician, and tech person involved. But more than that—it’s weighty.
Personally, I believe Easter carries more weight than Christmas. I know—no need to grab the social media pitchforks. I fully acknowledge we wouldn’t have Easter without Christmas. But I also think we can agree that for many modern churches, Christmas tends to be the easier one to sell. It’s a time of joy, warmth, lights, and family togetherness. You get that big beautiful moment where the house lights go down, candles are lit, and the whole auditorium softly sings Silent Night.
“And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about”… for many.
But Easter? Easter forces us to reckon with the brutality of the crucifixion. It confronts both believers and non-believers with the reality of Jesus’ death—and the earth-shattering, history-defining event that followed: the Resurrection. It demands we wrestle with Christ’s question: “Who do you say I am?”
And if He is who He says He is—then Easter changes everything.
You can’t fly past Easter with glitter and good vibes. It doesn’t lend itself to sentimentality in the same way. And honestly, maybe that’s why the Christmas production sometimes becomes the big one in many churches. It’s easier to wrap lights around joy and hope than it is to stage the weight of sin, sacrifice, and resurrection.
Some churches have gone all in on the Christmas spectacle—perhaps a little too far. We all remember the flying drummer bit from a few years ago. I still remember one of the online comments that said it best: “Talk about Away WITH the Manger.” I laughed… and then cringed. Because I’ve been part of that world. I’ve helped produce some of those moments. And I know it’s a fine line between celebrating the season and accidentally stealing the spotlight.
But Easter? Easter tends to bring churches back to center. Fewer gimmicks. More reverence. More honesty. I think most of us in worship and production feel that shift—and rightly so.
This is the weekend where the embodiment of the Gospel gets proclaimed with all we have. We’re not just mixing audio or programming lights or making sure lyrics hit at the right time. We are bearing witness to the greatest truth in history: He is not here. He is risen.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to feel the weight of this calling more deeply. If you’ve followed my work, you know I don’t think we should take ourselves too seriously—but I absolutely believe we must take the mission seriously. What we do matters. How we carry it matters.
So, I’ll leave you with a message I first wrote years ago, and one I still mean every bit as much today:
For all my friends, co-workers, clients, tech staff, volunteers and musicians serving in churches on this special weekend: May I suggest, today find a quiet moment to pray for your teams and the countless others who will be taking long hours away from their families to serve God over the next four days. Serve with a grateful and loving heart. Be patient and kind to one another. Lead the way with a positive and joyful spirit. We have so much to be thankful for—a Savior who died for us and defeated the grave. He is Risen, and we have been given the privilege to host the celebration!
Happy Easter my friends!
