Need a New Easter Event? Try This Unique Scavenger Hunt!

Use this unique and meaningful scavenger hunt with families to teach the true point of Easter.

Easter is the perfect time to celebrate Jesus’ love for us with the families in your church and community. Thanks to our Savior, we have so much to celebrate and be joyful for! This holy season is also a wonderful opportunity to maximize families’ understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection. An Easter scavenger hunt with a purpose is a perfect way to bring on fun and adventure—and guide families into discovering more about Jesus’ life-changing actions and love.

Plan the Scavenger Hunt

Long before your scavenger hunters ever arrive, begin with the following steps.

1. Pray about your event.

Ask God to bring families to your hunt, even those who might not attend your church. Ask God to prepare your community’s heart to welcome the friendly strangers who end up on their doorstep. Pray for families to have fun, enjoy their time together, and truly learn more about Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection.

2. Plan it.

Determine what supplies you’ll need to make the hunt successful. Set your search location, and decide whether you’ll need additional volunteers to travel along with families.

3. Get the word out.

Invite families to the scavenger hunt over several weeks’ time. Ensure you cover these bases:

• Make an announcement from upfront and place one in the church bulletin.
• Create fliers to distribute.
• Encourage families to invite a neighbor or friend.

The Hunt Begins

In this one- to two-hour scavenger hunt, you’ll send families or teams hunting together in your neighborhood or other location to seek out clues to the truth about Easter. The goal is for teams to have tons of fun—while they also get to learn and discuss the amazing truth about Jesus’ deep and abiding love for us.

Start by clearly defining the hunt area beforehand for families. You might consider including a map of the neighborhood if you plan to have people search your surrounding area. Have families or teams stay together for safety. Distribute a scavenger hunt list, a Bible, and about 20 “Thanks for Playing” cards to each team.

To play, teams must bring back each item listed or a photo of the entire team posing with the item to prove they found it. Teams have to find each item by going door-to-door and asking. The item can’t already be in your team’s possession (such as a team member’s cellphone clock for the watch or clock item). Whenever a team leaves a location after asking for an item, have them leave a “Thanks for Playing” card in appreciation. Ensure at least one adult is with each team at all times.

Let’s Play

Distribute the scavenger hunt list to each team. Remind them to read the rules before starting. Each time teams locate an item, they must read the Scripture and talk through the discussion question together before moving on. Remind everyone where your finish point will be and at what time the search is over. Teams that finish early can go early to the finish point.

Treasures Found

Once teams have gathered at your finish point location, invite them to show off their findings and recap how each item ties into different Easter events. Congratulate everyone on a search well done.

Provide refreshments, and encourage families to discuss the following as they eat.

• What’s one thing new you learned about Easter during this experience?
• If you could tell a friend just one thing about Easter, what would you say?
• What was your favorite part of our scavenger hunt, and why?

Close in a team prayer, thanking God for his amazing grace.

Looking for even more great ideas for Easter? Check out all our Easter posts.