Summer Time Changes & Events

 Summer time for youth ministry means different things. I know of some youth workers who ramp up their activities and take advantage of the free time students have while others slow things dow allowing students and themselves a well needed rest. Whatever the case, summer time is a change of pace. But, to be honest with you all I am horrible at planning our summer calendar. It always seems to sneak up on me, but one of the positives is that we have set up some summertime traditions. Students look forward to these activities every year and they are the pillars to which we plan other activities for the summer. I know we try to shoot for three big events and then everything else is planned around those. So if you’re as bad a planner as I am, first get some help; then put in place some solid fun activities students will be looking forward to and make them traditions. Here’s some suggestions;

·         I know most everyone does a summer camp but, what else can you do. If possible try to shoot for one big activity a month (June, July August)

·         Depending on where you live some activities can be virtually free. We are in San Diego so loading up the cars and spending a day at the beach with a bon-fire at night is great. All that’s needed is a dedicated volunteer to get there early and save our spot.  What resources can you utilize in your area to make it cost effective? Some things to consider

o    Who has a house with a pool you could use?

o    Guys/Girls night out or sleepovers

o    Backyard camping: Who’s got camping gear you could borrow?

·         Team up with other youth groups. I know this has been said by other youth workers before but it doesn’t hurt to repeat it. Not only is it a great way for your students to fellowship with peers but it can be cost effective for big events. I know of two youth groups who do a theme park trip together. They get the tickets at a great discount and then rent a charter bus to take everyone. On their own they wouldn’t be able to afford it, but combining their groups allows them to. The plus is the leaders don’t have to drive after a long day of walking in the sun and it’s a great selling point for parents as well.

·         Get your church involved. In our area, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and Labor Day in the unofficial end of summer. On those days our entire church takes over a park and we spend the whole day cooking out, playing sports and lounging around. Families hang out and it’s just a great time that everyone looks forward to. The plus is there’s virtually no planning on my part except announcing it to our students.

·         Age specific activities. Our group is under a hundred, that’s including middle, high school and college. All of our age groups have good interaction and we normally do our summer activities together, but this year we are tinkering with doing some age specific activities. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of these.

Here’s are some of the event we’ve done

May
·         Memorial Day Picnic: All-day picnic with the church
June
·         Beach Days: All day at beach w/ bon-fire at night. (optional devotional or service)
July
·         Noodles & Doodles Fundraiser: Our biggest fundraiser event. Students create original artwork based off bible themes and verses. The artwork is then auctioned off at a pasta dinner or lunch. We charge $5-$10 a plate and the auction is either silent or live. This year we’ll be doing a live auction.

·         Fast Food Tuesdays: We meet at a local fast food place for a couple hours and hang out for relational time. Sometimes we’ll change the location weekly or monthly.

August

·         Summer Camp: Combined youth camp with churches from our denomination
·         Magic Mountain Trip: This is our final summer youth event
September
·         Labor Day Picnic: All-day picnic with the church