Easter Family Challenge

Easter is a time to celebrate Jesus. We rejoice that Jesus has risen from the dead and is alive! Many families have yearly traditions that they do around Easter time such as coloring eggs, having an egg hunt, and gathering with family to enjoy a meal together. Telling our kids about why we celebrate Easter and that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins is an important conversation we can have as well. One goal of our Next Gen ministry at Gateway Church is to provide resources for families to use at home to help encourage authentic faith. We want to partner with parents who are the primary disciplers of their kids and work together with parents as they raise their children to follow Jesus. This year we encouraged our Kidway families to participate in a Family Easter Challenge that would point them back to Jesus. 

The Sunday before Easter, we handed out bags to our Kidway families. Each bag had five short devotions to do together at home as well as a challenge to do together as a family. The challenge involved hiding eggs at a friend’s or neighbor’s house. Each egg was stuffed with a treat and a sentence about the story of Jesus' resurrection. One egg was left empty as a reminder of the empty tomb. The following message was left at the front door of the house where the eggs were hidden: “You’ve been egged! We’ve hidden 12 eggs in your yard. Enjoy the hunt, but don’t be sad that one is empty; it’s a reminder of the empty tomb. He is risen! Matthew 28:6.” The kids in the families who participated in the Easter activity loved the challenge of hiding the eggs and not being seen. They also enjoyed seeing their friends’ reactions when they saw the note on their door and found the hidden eggs. 

When asked what they learned about Easter this year, one of our 5th graders responded, “I watched The Passion of the Christ for the first time and it gave me a good visual. I felt very sad about how much Jesus suffered for us.” One of our 2nd graders responded, “I knew Jesus arose from the dead, but I didn’t fully realize he did all of that for us so we didn’t have to.” As our kids continue to grow and mature, there is so much they can learn about Jesus. Their understanding of the gospel will deepen each year if we continue to have conversations together and answer the questions they have about the Bible. Let’s keep pointing our kids to Jesus and help them grow in their faith!

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