Around the last weekend of May, something starts to happen. For many churches, the parking lot only fills to half capacity, children’s ministry offerings are reduced, and church staff take time off more than during other parts of the year. A sort of unspoken assumption settles in among both church attenders and church leaders: summer is a break from normal church rhythms.
But is it? Or, even, should it be? And if so, what does a “summer break” at church look like?
The Case for Rest
Let’s be real: church ministry slows down in the summer, whether we like it or not, for obvious reasons. Many church leaders have kids who are out of school for the summer, which means that schedules change and travels abound. For many families, especially those who live far away from loved ones, summer is the best time to visit friends and family who don’t live nearby, and this takes them away from the normal rhythms of life, limiting availability for church activities.
Likewise, many volunteers who serve regularly throughout the year may start to experience some fatigue by the time spring is wrapping up, and they may request some time off from their volunteer duties in the summer to guard against burnout (and maybe also because they plan to travel, too).
Rest is biblical. It is important for us to take time each year to step back from our regular rhythms of weekly duties and grinding schedules to breathe more deeply, sleep in a bit, and not be so focused on what we do with our hands that we forget to see how God works in our hearts.
That said, rest and discipleship can happen at the same time, and it would be sad if our churches saw summer only as a time of rest.
What We Lose When We Go Quiet in the Summer
Our churches build so much momentum throughout the school year, especially through the winter and the spring as Easter arrives and we celebrate the beauty of the resurrection together. Taking the summer to solely rest instead of turning that spring momentum into real life change is not ideal.
Think of the new people who attend on Easter Sunday and in the weeks after. Think of the people who decide to follow Jesus for the first time or renew their commitment to a faith they once left behind. How will they build community in the summer and learn to follow Christ with their brothers and sisters if the church effectively shuts down outside of weekend services?
While plenty of people travel and have less availability in the summer months, some people experience more freedom and availability in the summer. Likewise, summer can be a great time for community-building and new friendships to take root. To totally forsake these opportunities for discipleship and community in the summer would be a big miss for our churches.
Summer as the Preseason, Not the Offseason
The best sports teams don’t just sit around all offseason waiting for the new season to start. They rest some, recovering from the hard work they put in from the season before. They train some, preparing for the promise of the season ahead.
What if we looked at summer in the same way in the local church?
For most churches, fall is the kickoff of the ministry year. After a summer of light or no programming, most churches get going around Labor Day with robust children’s ministry offerings, full parking lots, and community events.
But before that busy season starts, what if we saw the summer as a preseason as much as an offseason?
Summer is the ideal time to pilot a Rooted group of eight or more staff and church leaders who can help launch a suite of Rooted groups in the fall that restart the discipleship momentum that may have gone a little quiet over the summer.
Summer is also a great time to host small groups around biblical themes or topics that may only take a month or two to explore with some depth. For instance, what if you had a group do an in-depth study on a Rooted rhythm like Prayer or Sacrificial Generosity for five weeks? Or perhaps a leader in the church would want to take a group of people through My Anxious Thoughts or A Better Us. For those who want to spend the summer doing a bit of a deeper dive, there’s also studies like The Story of God or Theology and the Mission of God.
Summer can be a time of rest and a time of discipleship. Summer can be treated as an offseason, but we should also see it as a preseason time of preparation for the busy fall ahead of us.
A Sustainable Summer Discipleship Strategy
It probably doesn’t make sense for your church to have a full slate of discipleship opportunities available in the summer akin to what is typically available in the fall or winter, given all of the different reasons we’ve already explored. But it would be a shame if we didn’t do all we could as pastors and church leaders to carry the momentum from the spring toward the fall.
People have experienced real life change in your church this year, and this summer could be a great time for them to both build community and grow closer to the Lord through the study of His Word. Give them some opportunities. Don’t wait for September to disciple them.
