Every time we manage to get through a gruelling Canadian winter, we always look forward to those blissful summer months where it doesn’t take a century to get in and out of the house with all of our winter gear.
This is a picture that I took when I was on a mission trip to Thailand a few years back. For most of us, this is what we hope our summers to be filled with – adventure, relaxation, and most of all, no stress and no responsibility. However, for the rest of us, this is not a reality and life goes on.
Yes, kids and teens do get a summer break, but not for us adults – well other than that accrued vacation time we might be able to use, if we haven’t already!
So what does this have to do with life, community, and my group?
Although we all love taking a break, and the natural rhythms of life dictate our need for one, the one thing that doesn’t stop over the summer is our need for community.
So here is that infamous question that every small group needs to ask over the summer , “To continue, or not?”
Here are a few of my suggestions:
- Live life together; don’t schedule reoccurring meetings together. Take time to just live life together as a group. Go take a walk together, play games together, have a barbecue, visit a summer festival as a group.
- Don’t feel the need to do a study during the summer months, but remember not to keep God out of the picture. Share about the things that God is doing in your lives. Have a worship time together as a group. Pray with each other, not just for each other. Go to a weekend service together as a group and then go out for a meal afterward, while eating, share about the sermon.
- Invest and invite. Intentionally spend increasing amounts of time with the non-Christians that you live, eat, and play with. Be a blessing to them! Invite them to your group and to a weekend service.
- Serve one another. Don’t tackle those home and garden projects alone. Invite others from your group to help you out, even if you can do it yourself. This is a great opportunity to spend time with each other and serve each other!
If you do things like that during the summer months, just imagine the momentum that you will be able to build up for the Fall, when your group starts to meet up again on a regular basis.
Happy Summer Months!!
