TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--Pastors know their Easter audiences are made up of regular churchgoers and people who rarely attend. So the challenge, according to The Tallahassee Democrat, is to connect with them all, using the familiar message of the resurrection.

"I count Easter as Super Bowl Sunday," said the Rev. John F. White II, pastor of New Mt. Zion AME Church. "It's the largest Sunday we have in Christendom, and it's at the center of our beliefs."

Some pastors use new techniques, music, video segments, even food and fun, to reach their biggest audience of the year, others stick to the same service as usual.

"Easter is, in many ways, the most difficult service for me," said the Rev. Doug Dortch of First Baptist Church on College Avenue. "I feel the pressure to speak the story in a way that will compel them to come back before Christmas. I really do feel a great weight and burden to inspire them to say, ‘I need to come back next Sunday.'"

The themes of resurrection, forgiveness and a renewal of faith contained in the Easter message are keys to the Christian faith pastors want to convey.

"Easter is the foundation of our hope," said Father John O'Sullivan, 59, of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. "We live in hope that life is something to be lived and celebrated and not to be feared, because the end of our life isn't death, but something really beautiful, more beautiful than we can imagine."

Rev. James Monroe, interim pastor at Fellowship Presbyterian in Killearn Estates, focused his message on eternal life. "Everybody dies, and everybody wants to live, and live again. I'm 77 years old, and life and death are something I think about quite often."

Pastors find their challenge in making the familiar message relevant.

"The Passion of the Christ" film has brought the Easter story into view for millions this year and many ministers tried to connect with their audience by referring to the Mel Gibson movie.

"I know for a fact that this is an Easter when a lot more people will come to church to hear that message, and that's great. But I'm not going to be wearing a Mel Gibson T-shirt," said pastor Erik Braun, of Four Oaks Community Church.

Whatever they say to their expanded Easter audiences, most ministers agreed that they should keep it short.

"You want people to leave buoyed in their spirits," said Dortch. "But if you don't strike oil in 20 minutes, quit drilling."