Summertime at Your Church

For most of us, the summer months mean kids are home from school, vacations are right around the corner, and barbecues are par for the course. There are several options to keep summer attendance and community presence high for most churches. Focusing on things that affect the families of the church or community is sure to help a church thrive during a time of year that typically sees a decrease in attendance.

3 Ways to Have the Best Summer at Your Church

Focus on Youth

Sure, vacation Bible schools are everywhere during the summer, however, the focus is only on one age group of kids, and staffing these events is potentially problematic for most churches. Consider a summer day camp idea that allows the older kids to volunteer time to watch and mentor the younger kids.

Schedule different fun activities, such as a sports-themed day, a mini-golf day, or an outing to a local pool or beach. 

If you want to do something a little bigger, put together a week-long conference just for your junior high and high school kids. Schedule activities during the day and special guest speakers at night. Make the night sessions available to your entire community, but have a direct focus on youth-related topics. Set aside one day for a community event, such as working at a soup kitchen or a women’s shelter where the kids give back some of what they’ve received throughout the week.

Think Outside 

Summer weather=opportunities to enjoy the outdoors as a church. Keep it informal and casual: a potluck picnic at a place with a playground and space for games or a campfire. And you’d be surprised by what just a monthly event can do for community building.

Look at local events where your church can have a presence. Maybe you volunteer to do trash pick up or water distribution at a music festival, or host a booth at a local fair where members of the congregation sell their wares or specialty food items.

Plan a special Sunday service at an outdoor location, like a natural amphitheater, park at a lake or a sea-side location. Scope out the location ahead of time and plan for parking, seating, and sound.

Have Fun

Make the summer months a way to bring your whole community together. Work with a sister church, or any local churches, to hold larger events together. Consider an ecumenical evening services at the conclusion of the event to worship together as a community.

We hope summer at your church is going well to a great start and you are excited to see what God has in store for the rest of the season!