college-age ministry in the summer
By Chuck on Jun 25, 2008 in Featured
For many of us college-age ministry looks vastly different in the summer. People are on completely different schedules, work hours pick up for many, routines totally adjust, and even sleeping habits get out of whack. There are some things people are doing around the country that seem to work effectively during the summer months, different than the normal weekly gathering points we’re all used to. Here are 4 things I’ve seen be great for college-age people that anyone, in any context, with almost any budget can implement:
Late night BBQ’s. One night during the week have people over for a bbq - that starts around 9:30-10pm. Hang out into the wee-hours. You may even think about doing this instead of your normal gathering!
Sugar cereal gatherings. This may seem cheezy, but trust me, you can sell it! Buy all the sugar cereal you can - Lucky Charms, Honey Comb, Captain Crunch (don’t forget the berries!), Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, etc - and invite everyone over for breakfast…at noon! This is all the cereal they can’t afford anymore. Again, this may seem weird at first, but they’ll love it. This can even work for after your formal gathering times. Just have it available…and it will get devoured!
Homeless Experience. Take a group of your students out for one night (or two if you can) of homelessness. Go to a community where a lot of people live and spend the night with them. Make sure people don’t bring any money, no change of clothes…nothing. Throughout the day(s) talk about gratitude.
Office Marathon. Get a couple series’ of The Office and pull an all-nighter. Start with dinner and end with breakfast.
Ok, one last tip…put these together at the last minute! Stay away from fliers and Facebook invites. Let the word spread naturally. Spur of the moment things are the best, especially with college-age people! Oh, and don’t try to spiritualize it. That will come in time, no need to force it.
Thanks for the ideas Chuck. I agree that summer is a difficult time for college-age ministry. Finding those contact times to be with students over the summer are critical and can be few and far between if we don’t pay attention.
One of the things that I started this summer for the first time that’s been working out well is ultimate frisbee. We get together starting at dusk, around 9pm, and play ultimate frisbee on the front lawn of our church. They make these fiber-optic frisbees that light up so you can see them at night really well. I get a couple of different color glow-in-the-dark necklaces and have the two different teams wear them so you can tell who’s on your team. We’ve been doing it once a month and have had two good turnouts so far. Something different and after hours.
Eric Ferrell | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply