Article
by
When I picture Easter, the primary images in my mind are not bunnies, Peeps, or colorful eggs. They are the cross, the empty tomb, and my resurrected Savior saying, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen (Luke 24:5–6).
But what images are the preteens in your ministry going to walk away with after Easter Sunday at your church?
This question matters more than we sometimes realize. Because if we aren’t careful, we may unintentionally communicate something to preteens that we never intended: that Easter is a childish holiday they are slowly outgrowing.
Preteens live in a strange developmental space. They still have one foot in the excitement of egg hunts and Easter baskets, but at the same time, they are beginning to outgrow those experiences. A fourth-grade boy — and even many sixth-grade girls — may still enjoy the fun of searching for eggs or getting candy, but something inside them is changing. The novelty is fading. If the meaning of Easter to them does not increase, their interest in this holiday may die out completely.
This dynamic creates a unique and powerful ministry opportunity.
By ages 9 to 12, preteens are developmentally able to begin grappling with the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection in a deeper way than ever before. Their capacity for awe, gratitude, conviction, and personal ownership of faith has grown tremendously since they were five years old. They are ready to explore the implications of what happened 2,000 years ago in ways they simply could not when they were in first grade. They are ready to ask deeper questions and begin owning their relationship with Christ.
So why do we often give them the same Easter programming we give first graders?
Though their capacity for understanding is growing, we must remember that preteens are still kids. They are not, in most cases, ready to sit through a 40-minute sermon unpacking deep theological doctrine. They need experiences that match both sides of who they are: growing thinkers who still need movement, interaction, and concrete moments.
Over the years, our ministry has tried many different Easter approaches with preteens. Some have fallen flat. Some years we simply had preteens attend with their parents. But two experiences in particular have stood out as especially effective. I want to share them briefly, not because the specific programs are the point, but because the principles behind why they worked can be applied in any ministry context — even if you only have two preteens or limited resources.
Example 1: RISEN — An Interactive Easter Story Experience
In one Easter service, we transformed the traditional egg hunt into a three-part journey through the Easter story. Preteens participated in short egg hunts that unlocked scenes from Scripture: the garden of Gethsemane, the cross, and the empty tomb. They acted out roles while leaders revealed three invisible gifts made possible through Jesus’ death and resurrection: purpose, forgiveness, and freedom. The experience moved back and forth between activity, storytelling, and discovery every few minutes, keeping attention high while continually pointing toward the Gospel.
Why Did That Work?
First, it didn’t remove engagement. It redeemed it.
In preteen ministry, the goal is not simply to create “fun.” The goal is engagement — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Preteens were moving, searching, competing, and anticipating prizes, but the focus shifted from candy to meaning. The method itself communicated that the greatest treasures of Easter were not things they could hold in your hand but rather, gifts Jesus secured for them.
Second, the method was the message.
If we act like the biggest prize we offer on Easter is a 5-foot chocolate bunny, preteens will conclude that candy is the highlight of Easter. But if we act as if the biggest prize they could walk away on Sunday having is purpose, forgiveness, and freedom, they begin to understand that those are treasures worth pursuing. Preteens pick up on what we treat as valuable.
Third, it respected their growing maturity.
I watched sixth-grade girls in their Easter dresses — students who would normally scoff at a traditional egg hunt — leaning forward with interest. They could tell this experience was more mature, more meaningful, and more worthy of their attention. And they loved that. Preteens will rise (or sink) to whatever level we treat them as though they are at.
Finally, the constant rhythm changes mattered.
Preteens have short attention spans, especially on a high-energy day like Easter. By shifting activities every five to ten minutes while keeping everything focused in the same direction, the service slowed down a familiar story without making it feel laborious. They stayed engaged the entire time.
Example 2: Boys vs. Girls — The Prize You Can’t Earn
Another year, we built Easter around a boys-versus-girls competition. Teams competed in games to earn points toward a mystery prize revealed at the end. When the envelope was finally opened, students discovered the number of points required to win was impossibly high — something like “100 billion times infinity.” The prize was also revealed: salvation and heaven. The message became clear to the preteens: salvation and heaven are prizes no one can earn. But at Easter, we celebrate what Jesus did: He earned what we could not and offers it to us as a gift.
Why Did That Work?
Preteens are wired around earning.
They are constantly asking, “What can I earn? What can my team earn?” Grades, privileges, rewards, and approval shape their daily experience. Many have subconsciously conflated earned rewards with salvation. This experience confronted that assumption directly.
More importantly, they didn’t just hear about grace, they experienced it.
Simply saying, “You can’t earn what Jesus did for you,” can feel abstract. But when students personally chase a prize and then discover it is unattainable — even more unattainable than they imagined — they feel the truth in a concrete way. The impossible points created a memorable metaphor that moved grace from concept to experience.
The emotional sequencing also mattered. By the time we reached the Gospel presentation, the preteens were fully invested. Competitive or not, they were all-in, because the deeper theme was not really about competition. It was about a prize many of them had been chasing their whole lives. And the good news of Easter is that Christ proved His ability to attain what we could never attain ourselves.
It’s Not About the Program
These two examples are very different. One focused on experiential storytelling. The other focused on conceptual clarity through competition. But they shared the same underlying principles:
Preteens need engagement that matches their developmental stage.
They need concrete experiences to understand spiritual truths.
They need to be treated as older than children but not expected to respond like adults.
Most importantly, they need to see that Easter is not a childish holiday they are outgrowing. It is the most awe-inspiring event in human history — one they are finally old enough to begin understanding in deeper ways.
Preteens are standing at the shoreline of deeper faith. They can see the water. They are curious. They want to go farther. But they are not quite sure how to get there.
Our role is to create experiences that invite them into those deeper waters.
Because if we don’t, we risk communicating something dangerous: that Easter is mostly about eggs, candy, and traditions they are ready to outgrow and leave behind.
But when we create engaging, meaningful experiences that connect them to the cross and the empty tomb, preteens discover something infinitely more satisfying than candy.
They discover Jesus.
Sean Sweet is the founder of FourFiveSix.org and the NEW Preteen Ministry HQ, equipping leaders worldwide with resources, training, and vision for preteen ministry. He is also the author of Let Go and Run Beside and a passionate communicator helping leaders equip preteens to take ownership of their faith in Jesus.
