03/22/2010: "Helping Mr. Bunny Serve Christ"

We admit it. There is a fair amount of controversy among churches as to how Easter should be celebrated. Some believe that the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of fertility and that the Easter bunny and Easter eggs represent fertility and are linked somehow to Eostre or at least to some other pagan beliefs and as such Easter should not be celebrated with Easter bunnies, Easter eggs and Easter egg hunts. While even the experts are not quite certain of the origin of some of these man-made traditions there is one fact we can be absolutely certain of: God is all powerful and can even use man-made pagan traditions to accomplish His good will.

Each year at Easter Community Bible Church holds a huge Easter egg hunt to attract the unchurched in our community. This event gives our staff and volunteers time to interact with those which they might not otherwise get to associate with, hopefully bringing some into the church and then leading them to Christ. This is no small event. Last year over 40,000 eggs were placed. Yes, 40,000 eggs which if they were to hatch would result in a population of chicks greater than the human population of the cities of McDonough and Stockbridge, Georgia, combined! This year the goal is 50,000 eggs!

In order to assist with this outreach project, the Local Out-Team held our annual egg stuffing fellowship at the church. Members of the Out-Team arrived at the church on a Friday night bringing a pot-luck dish, candy and yes, brightly colored Easter eggs in tow. Members dinned and chatted while stuffing the eggs, securely taping each one closed to ensure the sought-after sweet prize would not be lost until it was in the hands of an excited child.

It was a good time for all. Old bonds were strengthened and new ones were formed. Children and adults alike participated in assembling about 3,000 Easter eggs. In the end the Easter eggs were prayed over asking that they might give a child the desire to discover what other goodies rested within the four walls of a church.