My Favorite Part Of Doing Youth Ministry In The Summer
You know what I love about youth ministry in the Summer?
Sure, they're still busy. There are sports camps, all-stars, travel tournaments, church camps, mission trips, family vacations . . .
It's not that they're not busy, it's that so many of them aren't stressed. And that opens HUGE doors for relationship building.
During the school year, there is a palpable tension caused by school. And not just school work. The relational drama just seems higher during the year. Sports are in season. There are extra curricular clubs and activities. And for the students who work on top of all this, it creates an overall feel of weariness. When we do ministry in this environment, we have to wade through all the stress.
So, embrace it. Summer is a great time to pour into building relationships with students in an informal, much more relaxed environment. Go to the pool or the amusement park. Have a cook out. Throw together last minute, unplanned lunches. Just hang out.
Embrace the unstructured, relaxed, relationship-rich atmosphere of Summer. The chaos of Fall will be here before you know it.
I love how relaxed our teenagers are.
Sure, they're still busy. There are sports camps, all-stars, travel tournaments, church camps, mission trips, family vacations . . .
It's not that they're not busy, it's that so many of them aren't stressed. And that opens HUGE doors for relationship building.
During the school year, there is a palpable tension caused by school. And not just school work. The relational drama just seems higher during the year. Sports are in season. There are extra curricular clubs and activities. And for the students who work on top of all this, it creates an overall feel of weariness. When we do ministry in this environment, we have to wade through all the stress.
But summer youth ministry is just different. Again, still busy. But SO much less stressful.
So, embrace it. Summer is a great time to pour into building relationships with students in an informal, much more relaxed environment. Go to the pool or the amusement park. Have a cook out. Throw together last minute, unplanned lunches. Just hang out.
Embrace the unstructured, relaxed, relationship-rich atmosphere of Summer. The chaos of Fall will be here before you know it.
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