Summer

Summer is upon us. I was talking to a guy last night about student ministry and summer calendars. In my 20+ years of student ministry I've never understood why some guys choose summer to shut down much of their student ministry with the exception of events. Camp, mission trips, lock-ins, etc...all are a part of most summer calendars, but what about the weekly bible studies outside of Sunday mornings?

When I was traveling a lot to different churches leading worship, speaking, etc...I had the opportunity to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of many things in church ministry. I cannot recall seeing a successful situation in which student ministry scaled back during the summer. And by successful, I mean that students continued to grow spiritually in the summer months in spite of a schedule that was cut back.

I guess where I get confused is in the fact that for much of the year we battle so many things in student ministry. School activities, sports, private lessons....you know, everything that all of us parents spend time and money on for our kids to be "involved." In the summer we have the opportunity to do ministry with far fewer time constraints and commitments. Sure, there is the occasional family vacation, summer ball, and stuff like that....but why not ramp up the number of things at the church for the kids to get to since they do have more time on their hands, and parents have a greater need for their kids to be doing something.

As a dad, I know my kids are off in the summer, and we do take a family vacation. But, we do it at the end of the summer right before school starts back up to kind of end the summer on a relaxing, family time note. We do take a break from home groups on Wednesday nights for the high school, but that's more for the host home adults to get a break. But our Sunday night high school service and Wednesday night middle school service continue throughout the summer. I've found that attendance actually increases during the summer months, and that relationships are solidified amongst the students during this time.

It just seems to me that using June, July, and August to ramp up the student ministry will only help our students when school starts back up. We all know what happens when you come down off of the mountain at camp and mission trips. Consistent, weekly, corporate worship and bible study, combined with small group time can help sustain the decisions and commitments that students make at one of these summertime events. Without consistent effort at sustaining this growth, it only puts us back in a defensive mode when they return to the halls in August.

I love the time that the summer gives us as student leaders to hangout with the kids. But I also love the time it gives us to mentor, and lead the students into finding the path that God has designed for their life. And it does make that vacation time in August a little sweeter after a full two and a half months of summer with students.

Random Thoughts today.....

1. why did my dad use to say that when it's sunny and raining that meant the devil was beating his wife?

2. why wasn't adhd an excuse for not getting my butt whipped when i was a kid?

3. what ever happened to playing red rover?

4. every kid should have to learn how to drive in my granddad's old blue truck with 3-speed on the column.

5. 79 days till kick-off.....Cowboys v. Raiders