Summer Ministry Doesn’t Have to Burn You Out

Summer is HERE! Just as many begin to dream about vacations and time off, you’re gearing up for a busy few months of finding more time to connect with students, plan camps, stay up way past your bedtime, and play that one game that will definitely result in you getting injured.

Summer is genuinely one of the best seasons in youth ministry. The schedule opens up, students are more accessible, and the opportunities for new connections are ripe. But if you’re not careful, summer can also be the season that quietly wears you down. The pace picks up, the margin disappears, and by the time August rolls around, you’re running on empty.

In the middle of all the added busyness that comes with summer, how do you find time to care for yourself? How do you ensure that your mind, heart, and body are set up to run the race for the long haul? What boundaries or disciplines are you putting in place to help ensure the summer doesn’t burn you out?

So, before you finalize that summer calendar, consider building a different kind of list: a personal one. Here are six things worth protecting this summer to finish strong.

1. Find Real Rest

Not “I wanted three seasons of _____” rest. Actual rest. Mental, emotional, and physical rest. This goes a long way. The kind of rest where your mind gets still, and your body slows down.

Rest looks different for everyone. Maybe it’s a full day off with your family. Maybe it’s just getting outside. Maybe it’s a hobby you’ve let collect dust. Whatever it is, don’t “hope” you get to do it this summer; schedule it. Summer will fill every open space if you let it.

2. Read Something

Somewhere in your office, nightstand, or Amazon save for later, there’s a book you’ve been meaning to get to. Summer is the time.

I just had a friend tell me that he read an entire book in one morning. I’m amazed. That’s not me. But you know what is? A chapter a day. 15 minutes a day. I can do that, and so can you.

On average, if you read 15 minutes a day, you can read 12-15 books per year. Find something that stretches how you think, sharpens how you lead, or simply feeds your soul. Your brain needs input that isn’t a group text or a planning spreadsheet.

3. Find Your People

Unfortunately, ministry can be an isolating calling. You’re literally surrounded by people all the time, but genuine community – people who know you, not just your role – is harder to come by than it should be.

Summer is a good time to be intentional about this. Find people you can do life with. Do the very thing you often preach to your students and leaders. It’s not a networking contact, it’s actual life-on-life moments. You need people in your life that you know, love, and trust. These people will help you make it through the summer and the rest of your life.

4. Spend Time with a Mentor

One of the best investments you can make any summer is a few intentional hours with someone who is further down the road than you. Maybe it’s a phone call, a lunch, or even a visit.

Come to that time with some specific questions. A few examples could be:

• What do you wish you had known earlier?
• What’s kept you going?
• Where did you almost quit?

The people who have been running the race longer than you have a ton to offer, and from my experience, most of them are more than willing to share it if you ask. When I reflect on mentors God has put in my path, by God’s grace, I can say with full integrity that people have made me a better follower of Jesus, husband, dad, and pastor.

5. Put the Phone Down

This one sounds simple. Maybe it’s even one you’re telling your students. Your phone needs some boundaries. Today, our phones are a ministry tool, news feed, social connection, and a source of low-grade anxiety – all at once.

Pick some windows of time throughout the day, week, and month where you put the phone down. Create days where you don’t scroll through social media or let the phone distract you from being present. Go outdoors and look up at creation, pray, read, or just take a hike. Maybe you carve out specific days with no phone, or maybe you find a block of time each day where you put the phone down and focus on something else. You might be surprised how things change when you feel like you’re not tethered to a screen (preaching to the choir here).

6. Build a Daily Rhythm with God

It’s possible to spend all summer pouring into students while your own personal walk runs dry. Don’t let that happen.

Use this summer to build or rebuild a daily rhythm of Scripture reading, time in prayer, and maybe even journaling. A few years ago, I started journaling my morning prayers. It’s been so fruitful and life-giving. Get back in a rhythm, not out of obligation, but out of genuine hunger. You can’t lead students toward something you’re not pursuing yourself.

The best thing you can offer your ministry is abiding in the One who called you to it.

Summer is a gift. You’ve got longer days, looser schedules, and the chance to grow deeper with students. All of it is worth embracing. Just don’t “lose yourself” in the process. Cross a few of these things off your own list this summer, and you’ll head into fall healthier.

Share your thoughts with others in our YM360 community:

1. What does your summer schedule look like? What do you struggle with the most when it comes to ministry responsibilities over the summer?
2. Have you ever had success with any of these bucket list items before? How did that help you?