Will those Easter visitors return?
It's the pinnacle of the church year . Crowds swell. Churches add chairs, and services, and parking lot attendants. Church leaders and members look out over the brimming Easter pews and wish that all these pop-up worshippers would return in the weeks to come. But it's not likely. Conventional wisdom would suggest that these holiday hordes, once they sample the finest a church has to offer, would return for more. And the additive effect of this special day would increase the year-round attendance, year after year. But that's not happening for most churches . Why? The Easter story is the most extraordinary story of all time. Churches, large and small, do an extraordinary job telling and celebrating the Easter story, providing special music, showing the pageantry, and welcoming the worshippers with care. So, why don't the throngs come back? I suspect there's no simple answer. It's a variety of dynamics at work. A SPECIAL EVENT. Many of the people who make one a...