Why Youth Ministries Should NEVER Take Their Summers Off - Start Planning Now!

A good portion of youth ministries take off and don't meet for a few months during the summer. Other than maybe a youth camp or conference their rationale goes that they won't have a regular sized attendance and therefore it's not worth it to meet.

If I may be so bold, this thinking is entirely FALSE!

I believe that summers can be the most exciting, missional, and best relationship building times of the year for teenagers!

While many teenagers are gone throughout the summer on family vacations or sports/band camps the rest of the teenagers are simply sitting at home, doing NOTHING! The student's are stuck at home and are hungry to do something so mobilize them into action.

Here are some MUST do's of youth ministries in the summer:
1. Go on MISSION trips. The weather is nice for traveling and teenagers schedules are a little more flexible than during the school year. Short term mission trips help teenagers grow to be on mission and it creates great rapport and camaraderie within your group. Plus, it provides momentum for the fall and motivation for students to reach their lost friends in their schools. Mission trips are a MUST for youth ministries.

2. Plan RELATIONAL activities. Instead of doing 'normal' youth groups take the students off campus if possible and do pool parties or 'Capture the Flag' type of events. No lessons just structured relational time. On occasion, I've had more teenagers come to a night pool party than they'd come to a youth group during the school year. This allows unchurched teenagers to have a good time and allows you to build bridges with them and your students.

3. Go on a LARGE GROUP CONFERENCE/CAMP TRIP. Have a pinnacle event that you encourage all teenagers to be a part of that makes a lasting spiritual impact within their lives. It provides a rallying cry for you to promote and get students involved, especially during the slow summer months. This allows you as a youth worker to address all your students at one time which rarely happens during the summer.

This upcoming summer our youth program is planning on doing the following:
1. Taking Sr. Highers on a mission trip to the #1 county for drug abuse in KY
2. Taking Jr. Highers on a mission trip to inner city Chicago
3. Going to Momentum our group's large conference trip. It's worth it! If interested go to www.buildmomentum.org.
4. Recruiting teenagers to help staff children's outreaches throughout the year such as summer camps, sports camps, and to outreach camps to inner city children within the city.
5. Fun/relational weekly gatherings

Many youth ministries slow down in the summer but we try to RAMP things up!

The benefits to an active summer youth ministry are numerous:
Keeps teenagers active, equips them, builds momentum in the fall for your youth ministry, impacts your church, and deepens relationships and fellowship amongst your teenagers.

If you are going to be active in the summer it requires youth ministries to PLAN and to prepare. Our youth ministry is busy with fundraisers and logistical planning in the spring, but the payoffs are worth it!

Do you think youth ministries can be active in the summer? Have you started planning?