Summer is upon us. I can just hear our school teachers and our kids shouting “Praise the Lord!!!!!”
I trust this will be a wonderful summer for each of you. May the Lord give you some time away from your job, school, and weekly demands as you try to have some family time together. I trust during these warmer days that each of us will make the effort to see that our relationship with God also warms up and doesn’t cool down. Getting away from the continual pressures of life on occasion is so important. Yet never is there a time when we should slack up on our spiritual growth. Even when we are away on vacation, God should be at the center of all that we do and are involved in. He wants to go on vacation with you.
God’s work should still be going on in June, July and August as it does the rest of the year. God never goes on vacation, nor does He want His work to stop. So thank you for keeping your tithe up-to-date even when you have to be away. Thank you for not slacking off in your participation at the church house this summer. Thank you, that when you need to be away, that you will make sure your church obligations are being taken care of by others.
This brings up a heavy burden I have for our church that I would ask you to pray with me about. Why is it that our church cuts back on children’s and youth activities in the summer when that is when they have more time to give to such endeavors? Summer is the time when we should be giving greater emphasis to providing opportunities for our youth and children to grow spiritually, to minister and serve the Lord, and to come together for fellowship and fun. Summer is a wonderful time to grow our church and we shut down so many ministries. Granted we have Youth camp, VBS, and children’s camp but how about in July and August. Why is it that our mission groups take the summer off? There is no school the next day to be an excuse for a youngster not coming. The summer would be a wonderful time to get them more involved in hands-on-missions, keeping them busy for the Lord, and to apply what we’ve been teaching them the rest of the year. It doesn’t need to be the same-same (we can be creative), but it should be continual and constant. Why stop when we have the greatest opportunity to minister and reach more youth and children?
We hope to uncover plenty of prospects for our church through VBS. Yet when we make follow-up visits in the homes, what can we say that we offer their kids? “Well, you’ll just have to wait till after summer is over before we get things started back up again for your children and youth.” Every year we find it sooooooooo hard to get things started back up since we’ve given everyone an extended time off. The best way to have a great fall (start of a new church year) is to continue to build momentum throughout the summer. At the end of summer, with school and other activities getting started again, we’re in competition and so often the church loses.
Thanks for joining me in praying about how we can do a better job of spiritually growing and doing ministry during our summer months. Thanks for stepping forward and helping us make the changes that are necessary.
Staying the Course,
Pastor Steve