As someone who grew up in the freezing state of Minnesota and now lives in the unbelievably-cold-during-the-winter province of Alberta, Canada, most of my life has been spent looking forward to summer. I constantly am longing for the day when I can shed my coat, pull out my shorts, and soak up the sun. Now that I have kids, summer brings freedom from schedules, school lunches, and wet winter boots on my kitchen floor.
Hooray for summer!
Even though summer comes with lots of families on different-than-normal schedules, there are still plenty of opportunities for ministry and creating special moments for your families.
As a ministry leader, summer brings a whole new schedule to the church as well. Things loosen up a bit, programming slows down, and people go out of town. However, that doesn’t mean you’re any less busy–if you’re a church that does VBS, summer can be almost more work than normal!
But even though summer comes with lots of families on different-than-normal schedules, there are still plenty of opportunities for ministry and creating special moments for your families. Here are a few fun (and hopefully pretty simple) ideas to continue to engage with families during the summer months!
7 Ideas to Engage Families in Summer
Park Pop-Up
During the summer, kids and parents can be found at the playground. Consider taking advantage of the outdoor opportunities for connection! Choose a playground, use your social media channels to let everyone know where you’ll be, and then gather together for some social time a few mornings this summer.
This can be as simple as chatting with parents and kids while they play at the playground, or you can create a small program by bringing a few blankets and inviting kids and parents to gather around. Consider reading a Bible story to the kids, singing a couple of fun worship songs together, providing a little puppet show, and having a simple snack like watermelon.
Parents will appreciate having a new activity and kids will love getting to see you during the week!
Wonder Ink’s 3-year, 52-week children’s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God’s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.
Pool Party!
Does one of your families have a backyard pool? Or is there a neighborhood or rec center pool you could rent out for a few hours? Consider hosting your families for a pool party to cool off and connect together.
Invite parents and kids, encourage them to bring a snack for the family, and then enjoy a few hours splashing and playing together.
Tailgate Party
One of the recent traditions at the church where I work is using our parking lot each summer to host a tailgate party for our congregation. It has been such an amazing time of connection, fellowship and amazing food. You could do this church-wide or just invite your families to come to the church parking lot one afternoon or evening this summer for a tailgate party.
Grab a couple of speakers so you can play music, and encourage families to bring food to share. They can set up folding tables, chairs, umbrellas and camp out for a few hours. Encourage everyone to walk around to taste all the food options.
Kids will love the freedom of the tailgate party, the food samples, and the fellowship with their friends.
Home Visits
With kids off school, summer is a great time to do some home visits with your families. Schedule some time to drop by a family’s home for a quick chat.
Parents will appreciate having a new activity and kids will love getting to see you during the week!
Kids will likely love the opportunity to welcome you into their homes, show you their rooms and their favorite hobbies. Parents will appreciate the genuine connection and time that you take to get to know them in a setting outside of church.
Campfire Night
Who doesn’t love a good campfire sing-a-long? Some of my best memories of camp, both as a camper and staff, were the nights we gathered around the fire to worship together. If there are no fire bans in your area, consider hosting a campfire night either at someone’s home or in a park that allows fire pits.
Provide all the goodies needed to make s’mores and spend some time worshipping together with the families around the campfire.
Church Popsicle Stand
Want a quick and easy way to connect with church families? Go buy a big box of popsicles or freezies, set up a table and umbrella in the church parking lot, and post on your social media that you’ll be there all afternoon handing out sweet treats!
As families stop by, take some time to connect with them, pray for them, or invite them back for church on Sunday!
Travel Kits
Lots of families travel during the summer and are outside of their normal church schedule. Consider putting together a little travel kit that families can take with them on their vacations. You can include some simple dollar store fidget toys, games, crayons, coloring books, etc.
You can also include the relevant Wonder at Home sheets for families so that they can still read the Bible passage, do some activities, and talk through the Wonder Truth together while they are away.
Summer is a great time to think outside the box when it comes to ministry. Although families will likely be less regular than during the year, there are still some great opportunities to connect in really personal and meaningful ways. Enjoy your summer!
More Fun to Equip and Engage Families
- Family Connection: Making Space for Transformation
- The Wonder of Family: God’s Creation
- Equipping Parents to Lead Their Kids Spiritually
- Moving Beyond the Behavior: Getting to the Heart in Your Children’s Ministry
- Recite a Wonderfilled Early Childhood Declaration with Brie
- The Power of Declaring Truth with Kids
- Developing Family Faith Through Life’s Simple, Awkward, and Imperfect Moments
