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Spirit Church is holding Easterville at home again this year.

Pastor Darryl Wootton said the event normally takes place at either Sooner Park or the church campus at 2121 S. Madison Boulevard in Bartlesville. He said their last in-person event in 2019 saw a helicopter drop 77,777 Easter eggs for families to gather.

Then the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 caused Spirit Church to pivot fast for their outreach event. Pastor Wootton said they decided to reach out last year instead of having the public go to them. He said they delivered Easter eggs to 500 homes, knocked on doors, and left with an Easter egg hunt ready for those that they visited.

Wootton said they're taking the same approach in 2021. He said they had 600 homes register for the event this year.

While registration for the event has closed, Wootton said there is an opportunity for you to come and pick up the Easter eggs at Spirit Church on Good Friday. He said they still have an "Easter Egg Hunt in a Bag" for you, so any time from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Friday, you can drop by the church's Madison campus to get your supply of Easter eggs.

Also on Good Friday from noon to 1:00 p.m., Spirit Church will hold a personal time of prayer and communion to reflect on what Christ did for us over 2,000 years ago. Wootton said they'll also have their Easter Worship Experiences on Saturday and Sunday. Those are as scheduled below:

• Saturday, April 3rd, at 5:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 4th, at 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday, April 4th, at 11:00 a.m.

Worship Pastor Spencer Smythe and Music Director John Conrad of Spirit Church will be releasing their first single "God of Victory" on Good Friday as well. Wootton said the song will be available on Spotify, Apple, Pandora and any other way you can stream music. He said the worship team will debut the song during the Easter services on 

Spirit Church says it's a place of love, and joy, and peace, and Wootton said that they've discovered over the years that Easterville is one of the ways that they can express to those in the community that they love them. Wootton said that children of all ages typically come out to enjoy the event. He said that he's told his team that they can continue to do Eaterville as long as they keep doing the special needs drop, which is why his heart is in it.

With the pandemic, Spirit Church wanted to give families something to do even if they couldn't go very far. Wootton said they at least wanted to get people out of their homes and enjoying the outdoors with the ones they love in their front yard. A year later, Wootton and the crew thought that they might be able to get back to holding their normal Egg Drop, but they didn't think it would be wise or safe for thousands to gather at this time. He said they're keeping their fingers crossed for 2022.

Wootton thanked the community, adding that Bartlesville is the greatest city on the planet. From health care workers to law enforcement to educators, Wootton said this last year has proven that Bartlesville is a blessing. He said we'll never take things such as meeting together and going to restaurants for granted after this past year.

Washington County has great churches and pastors, and Wootton encourages you to attend an Easter service this year, whether it be online or in person. He prays for a glorious weekend when we reflect on what Christ did for us.