This article will discuss interactive Good Friday service ideas and resources to help anyone who wants to put a bit of their own spin on the day, whether for a walkabout or a short performance.
These ideas are based on the book ‘Good Friday: An Interactive Service by Christopher Randerson and Naomi Hall.
Walkabouts
Think about your congregation’s different sections and the different reasons you might want to take them on a walkabout.
The sections could be people with visual impairment, people with a disability, those with mental health issues or difficulties, young people, new to the church, those who struggle in different ways or have lots of questions.
Then try to think of a way to have them explore their own spiritual and emotional needs and provide a safe and constructive space for them.
Open up new formats of worship
We don’t have to stick with the same format of worship throughout the day!
There are many ways to use a bit more worship time and bring the whole church into communion with the community, community members, and people on their doorstep.
Check out what is available and try it out!
Participation
Want to get some people involved but don’t know where to start? Try asking a specific person how they would feel about helping out or what it’s like to be in church on a Sunday, then find someone on staff who you can ask the same question to, or talk to the leader of your church or someone from the local church center or disabled services.
Once you have a conversation with them, you might be able to find out what could help with your congregation’s current worship activities, such as and audio assistance, a focus group, or a music group.
Try to work with someone in these positions to see what options are available and go from there.
Have a day of silence
Silence can be put upon you and that you don’t feel you are entitled to. Find out what it would take to make silence a tangible reality and make an agreement that you are going to do this.
Set a clear time each week that everyone is in silence and see what you can achieve. Once you get going, you will be surprised how often you end up with the opportunity to break the silence.
Why not encourage people to share their testimonies?
Especially if you’re a church where people are shy to share their testimonies, maybe this could be an opportunity to speak with someone one-on-one and encourage them to speak up.
Or maybe you have a spare session and encourage people to share their testimonies in smaller groups.
Free spiritual hugs
If people want to share a testimony but don’t feel able to, perhaps you could provide them with a spiritual hug to don’t feel scared of saying what they want to say.
Or even tell them how they are valued in the church and loved and be brave enough to talk about it!
Allow making disciples of all nations
You could offer this as a journey towards the end of a service or as a way to engage the whole congregation.
Read a passage or tell the story of Good Friday from different angles
The stories of Jesus’ passion are often very relatable, but they’re not always an easy read.
You could have people retell the stories, read parts of them, or listen to them.
Have a play with sound or music
Most churches have an image of their worship, but few actually do anything about it.
Consider trying out the different options available for what sounds could be used during the day and how the lights, video screens, and sound could be adapted to suit better the type of music or sound that the community would enjoy.
Go global
You can’t possibly be everything to everyone all of the time, so try going out and talking to those in your community to find out what other churches are like or what sort of activities are available.
You could even do a study on the world of missions.
Conclusion
There are many sites and apps out there that you can use for the Good Friday service. You can use video games, animated movies, games, the Bible, and more.
Your kids will love the interactive nature of the Good Friday service. You can post the videos, games, pictures, animations, and more to a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or other social media network.
By having a good experience on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media sites, your kids will grow up believing that the power of the Internet, and the Internet’s tools, are a wonderful blessing to use.
They will also become more open-minded to the idea of serving others. If your kids know that everyone is connected, you can invite them to make the Good Friday service virtual. You can use video games, animation, sound-files, and pictures.
Once you have created the service, you can invite the entire church family or just the church family from a nearby church. You can share the videos and the pictures and invite everyone to join. In the past, I have used Facebook page and Instagram to invite everyone.
You will be surprised that your kids will get excited about the idea of going out to share the love of Jesus with people who are not in their immediate family. It’s fun, and it encourages them to serve others.
