By Carl Nichols

Cookouts, sunshine, swimming pools, and vacations are all a part of summer.  No doubt people from your church will travel, and attendance will likely look like a roller coaster ride from June through August.  With that in mind, our staff at Relevant work very hard to set and manage expectations while seeing fruitful results during the summer.  Here are 5 things we have learned:

1. Don’t assume that you can’t grow during the summer.  Although most churches do see numerical dips, don’t give up during the summer.  Even if you don’t grow, understand that this can still be used as a season of equipping and preparing for a healthy fall season.
2. Look for relational opportunities for your people to connect.  Memorial Day, July 4th, and Back to School Blowouts are always relational and build excitement.
3. Don’t do something just to do it.  If it doesn’t fit your mission, vision, and values, say an emphatic NO.  Always clarify the win for any event or activity you play so you have a clear scorecard of your success.  For more on mission, vision, and values, make sure and attend the first session of our “Healthy Church” track (The Foundation) at Summit.
4. Make sure you, your pastor, and your staff all take some down time.  Everyone expects you to take a break in the summer.  They do!  You should, too!  I take 3-4 weekends off from speaking during the months of June and July.  This allows our people to hear from other great communicators, many of whom are a part of our own movement or staff.  Additionally, I make sure each of our staff has a couple of weekends to themselves as well.
5. Do something fun for your kid’s ministry that makes them want to attend as much as they can, and even be excited enough to bring a friend.  This year at Relevant, we are doing “Red Hot Summer” that is focused on something red or hot every week of June and July.  Popsicles, sunglasses, and beach balls are just a few examples.

At Relevant, we kick off summer on Memorial Day weekend with a family fun day with water games, activities, food from the grill, and a very intense young versus old softball game.  Additionally, we kick off “fit groups” for relational building while people work to get that beach body they have always wanted.  Our win here is relationships that cannot be built on Sunday morning and that sometimes fall by the wayside because many of our small groups don’t meet during the months of June and July.

What’s your biggest summer struggle?  Click on ‘Leave a Comment’ at the top and join the discussion!