And, like Christmas, a large part of the Easter celebration traditionally includes church attendance, making Easter one of the most heavily attended days for the church each year.

It is a time for remembering Christ's death and resurrection, a time when close friends and families worship and share a special meal together.

Knowing that the Easter service will present the gospel message in a clear and dramatic way, many Christians take advantage of this opportunity to share their faith with loved ones.

Your bookstore can support this effort to reach visitors by coordinating a church-wide Easter promotion with a memorable theme, tying together the various efforts of the church ministries and drawing shoppers into your store where they will find materials further expressing the good news of life in Christ.

AN EASTER THEME

Blanket your church and community with an Easter theme that will promote the message of the resurrection clearly while advertising your church and bookstore ministry.

For example, "He Lives!" is a simple, memorable theme. But, when combined with a stunning visual image that supports the theme, it becomes unforgettable.

To create this themed display in a highly visible area of your church foyer, sanctuary or bookstore, attach a piece of black cloth to the wall or a screen as a background. You will need at least four yards of cloth.

Next, set an unpainted concrete park bench at a 45-degree angle in front of the background to create the empty tomb. Place several yards of pure white, folded cloth near the front end of the bench and allow a portion of the cloth to drape over the side, almost touching the floor.

Finish the display by placing a single, long-stemmed , white silk Easter lily on top of the white cloth. Most floral shops sell realistic silk lilies with stems 2 to 3 feet long. The high-quality single-stem flower is preferable to the bush type for this display. Place the lily at an angle on the cloth with the flower pointing toward the front of the display.

Now place a large, professional-quality printed sign that reads "He Lives!" prominently in your display, perhaps standing on the bench behind the lily and cloth, and shine a spotlight down directly onto the lily. I suggest using dark purple script on a white background for the sign.

Most office suppliers and printers can design and print a sign for you. It may cost more to have it done professionally, but it will be worth it because the sign is crucial to the success of this display.

Take a digital photograph of the display and have it printed on billboards, along with your church name, your bookstore name, address and Web site to advertise your theme.

Then have the same photograph printed on T-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers to sell during the month before Easter in your store and on its Web site.

Additionally, they could be given away with gospel tracts as a means of witnessing and extending an invitation to your Easter service.

IN-STORE DISPLAYS

These should include featured seasonal product within each department and one central display utilizing cross- merchandising.

For example, feature all Easter CDs and DVDs together in your music department. Select all T-shirt designs with a crucifixion or resurrection theme, and feature them together in your apparel department.

The central display should be large and located near the front of your store where it can be seen easily as customers enter. Its proximity to the register will provide an opportunity for customers to browse while waiting in line.

This central display could feature at least one copy of every Easter or Jesus-themed movie, music product, book and gift item from your store. To draw attention to your display, you may wish to place a container of Easter lilies or a large cross at the top, and use a solid-colored cloth such as purple, white or black throughout the display.

To make shopping easier, group together all titles from authors such as Lee Strobel or Max Lucado, who have written multiple books on this theme.

START SOMETHING NEW

Rather than compete with the Easter baskets offered at big-box stores or ignore the tradition altogether, why not use children's desire to have an Easter basket as a means of spreading the gospel?

Start something new—create custom-designed "Believers' Baskets" for the children of your community. Build an inviting display of empty baskets, basket grass, bows, candy and children's product from your store.

You could sell the basket-making materials separately or charge a small fee for putting a basket together complete with clear basket wrap. Be sure to place signs explaining these options throughout your basket display—and don't forget to advertise your Believers' Baskets to your community on your Web site.

REACHING OUT

Why not enlist your youth group and Sunday school classes in an effort to promote a movie on the life of Jesus as part of your Easter theme?

One of the most beloved movies, Jesus, includes an invitation to receive Christ at its conclusion. You could offer a sales contest with a substantial reward going to the volunteer selling the most copies of the film.

Be sure to provide volunteers with sufficient order forms to take with them during the week to collect prepaid orders, and establish a date when the films will be available for pickup or delivery.

Your store could host an Easter coloring contest for your children's ministries by photocopying a drawing rendered by a talented teen or adult.

Children should print their names on their drawings along with a short sentence expressing what Easter means to them. A Believers' Basket could be rewarded to the winner, and all pictures could be mailed to elderly and disabled church members who will be unable to attend services.

By planning early, your bookstore can lead the way in uniting the various ministries of your church in a single effort to reach out to your community this Easter.