Parents and kids, meet the new way to search for Easter eggs: The egg drop.

Remove from your mind the image of thick soup served at Chinese restaurants; in an Easter egg drop, eggs are dropped from a helicopter that flies by the church. The eggs are dropped, then the children hunt for them.

At least, that’s what happened Saturday at Explosion Church in Gainesville, where about 5,000 plastic eggs came raining down from a helicopter. This was the first time the church had tried an egg drop, said Pastor Rich Gallagher.

"We’re a brand-new church, and we wanted to do something out-of-the-box to bring people in," Gallagher said. "We wanted to do something for children."

The church only recently moved into its new building at 2480 Limestone Parkway. It’s been meeting for a few months at the Georgia Mountains YMCA.

On Saturday, Families started registering kids for the egg drop at 10:15 a.m.; there was also an inflatable jumping toy, food such as popcorn and cotton candy and games with prizes.

Around 11 a.m. a helicopter flew over the field, stopping to hover over three corners designated for different age groups.

As it hovered, the eggs dropped. When the helicopter flew away, the kids were released into their designated area to search out the eggs.

The Gifford family was one of many families at the event.

"We wanted to have some good family-oriented fun and spread the word about Jesus," said Kim Gifford, who was there with her husband, Matt, and their three sons, Blake, 6; Cole, 3; and Wyatt 2.

Gifford said she enjoyed "just seeing all the people that are here and maybe they will be enticed to come to church. We’re a brand-new church. We have to open the doors."

Angie Telander of Clermont said of the day’s events, she and her family enjoyed watching the helicopter drop the eggs the most.

She brought her two children, Grace, 5, and Jeremiah, 4, to the event.

Gallagher said he hopes the church will make this a tradition.

"We just want the families of Gainesville to have a lot of fun," he said.