News

Is It Appropriate to Have the Easter Bunny in Church?

Experts respond.

Source Images: Ocamproductions / Lightstock / Cavan Images / Getty Images

Debates about bringing Santa Claus into church are perennial. But what about the Easter Bunny? We asked a variety of church leaders across the US to weigh in on whether this is good outreach, family friendly fun, or a distraction from message of Easter.

Caleb Campbell, pastor of Desert Springs Bible Church, Phoenix:

I think it’s totally fine as part of the egg hunt for kids or a prop for the sermon. However, I don’t think the pastor should do the sermon in a bunny suit—unless it’s a really good sermon.

Kevin Georgas, pastor of Jubilee Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, North Carolina:

It’s not something I’d get very worked up over. I wouldn’t have the Easter Bunny be a part of our worship liturgy but am not opposed to having an event where people take pictures with the Easter Bunny.

Amy Palma, pastor of South Fellowship Church, Littleton, Colorado:

While the Easter Bunny can be used as a tool to invite families outside the church’s walls, we have chosen not to do so. We do a glow-in-the-dark egg hunt event for that purpose, and to be honest an Easter Bunny in the dark would probably be a little terrifying!

Bobby Breaux, pastor of Twin Cities Church, Grass Valley, California:

Grace allows the church to have an Easter Bunny, but I do not think it is the best strategy for the holiday. Our egg hunt is offsite at an elementary school—so in children’s minds, not much association is made to the church. Our community sees it as a service we provide for free and an avenue where we advertise to young families our Easter church services.

Wendy Coop, host of the podcast Dear Pastor: Notes from a Virtual Pulpit:

Let’s not confuse the kids with the Easter Bunny unless we’re ready to explain why people even associate it with Easter. I’ve been at churches that had Easter egg hunts, and I was left explaining to the kids why bunnies don’t lay eggs and what this even has to do with the Resurrection. Unless you’re willing to go all in with the explanation, keep it focused on Jesus.

Darrell Deer, pastor of College Heights Baptist Church, Elyria, Ohio:

The Easter Bunny at church is over the line as far as I’m concerned. It confuses the issue and detracts from the real meaning of Easter. In this age when Christian distinctives seem to be blurring, it is important to hold onto and elevate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Zeb Balentine, professor of worship arts at Bryan College, Dayton, Tennessee:

Personally, as a father of three, I would rather my church put the effort into communicating the message of the Resurrection than bring in an Easter Bunny. A church will have to decide if they want that holiday to be Christ-centered or not. An Easter Bunny certainly is not.

Katy Drage Lines, pastor of Englewood Christian Church, Indianapolis:

It’s not appropriate. It seems to me that if Christ’s resurrection is the exhibition of the power of God destroying death and offering reconciliation to all creation, then celebration of that event is diminished by a consumer-oriented bunny handing out chocolate to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Also in this issue

Our cover story this month features the work of Kyung-Chik Han, a South Korean pastor who worked tirelessly mobilizing churches to meet overwhelming needs in the midst of the Korean War. This issue went to press before the scope of the COVID-19 epidemic in that country was fully known and well before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Nevertheless, Asbury University historian David Swartz offers us a provocative reminder that many of our most important institutions—crucial in good times and bad—stand on the shoulders of unsung giants. And it’s not unthinkable that the strength of any institution that endures tumult today is owed, in large measure, to the success of its overlooked heroes.

Cover Story

World Vision’s Forgotten Founder

News

Why Gideons International Is Scaling Back Bible Printing

News

Gleanings: April 2020

News

How Christian Colleges Have Been Revising Student Handbooks Since Obergefell

News

They’re Not From the US. But They’re Ministering to the Nation’s Soldiers

Love in the Desert of Lent

The Moral Order of the World Points to God

Fighting Anxiety With the Old Testament

God’s Mercies Aren’t So New

Medium Matters

Our April Issue: Behind the Scenes

Editorial

April Fools

Reply All

Testimony

I Was Warned to Keep My Distance from ‘Infidels.’ Then One Prayed for My Family.

Let Bible Reading Get Back to Basics

The ‘Over There’ Era of Missions Is Over

Review

God Likes You. He Really Likes You!

Review

Youth Ministry Needs Less Fun and More Joy

Five Books That Capture the Blessings of Getting Older

New & Noteworthy Fiction

Before Christ Rose, He Was Dead

View issue

Our Latest

News

Black Clergy and Christians Grapple with Charlie Kirk’s Legacy

Many say the activist’s inflammatory statements on race should inform how we remember his life.

News

A Sudden Death: Voddie Baucham, Who Warned the Church of Fault Lines

Known for confronting critical theory, moral relativism, and secular ideologies, Baucham died a month into leading a new seminary in Florida.

Why Many Black Christians Reject the Evangelical and Mainline Labels

The history of a prominent church pastored by MLK in Alabama shows the reason African Americans often don’t embrace either term.

News

Pastor Abducted in Nigeria Amid Escalating Kidnapping Crisis

Armed gang continues to hold him after family paid the ransom.

Review

The Liturgy of American Charisma

Historian Molly Worthen studies dynamic leaders, eager followers, and their shared efforts to “consecrate a new reality.”

Inside the Ministry

The Next Gen Initiative

Casting a captivating vision of following Jesus for the next generation.

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Bruce Deel: Mercy With A Spine

Creating real pathways to stability so families can flourish through housing, work, and dignity.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube