What are your plans for the summer?
Summer is a different season in ministry. I have tried for the past few years to plan events and weekly gatherings only to waste money on events that no one wants to go to. The students I work with want a different youth ministry schedule, and I offer them that.
Here is what I prioritize during the summer:
Relationships. I invest into every student that sticks around. I get them to help me with the summer VBS at my church. I meet up with teens for slurpee runs, or for lunch. Every event I do in the summer is all about relationships. This is one thing that sets up my youth ministry for the fall. This summer I want to go around and meet up with all the parents of my youth ministry.
Planning. I plan everything out in the summer. I plan every talk, and with that message I work on the complement, and subject of each passage that I will be teaching my group. This summer I want all the games planned for the year, and the supplies ready. One thing different this summer is that I will get some core students to help me plan out my year of messages so that I know we are talking about where the students are at.
Development. I am taking a summer preaching class on wednesdays. I am looking forward to this, and excited to hone my preaching abilities. I am also going to try to read a book a week. I will have another post on all the books I am going to read this summer.
Rest. I plan on hanging out with my family as much as possible. Every year at the same time I basically crash and sleep for a few days in order to cope with a brutal ministry year. I also plan on getting away for a few weekends.
Those the goals of my summer. What do you prioritize during the summer? Does your youth ministry slow down?
