For most churches the summer is either a very busy time where ministry kicks into high gear and opportunities for children are focused and frequent. Or, it is a time when churches practically, "roll up their sidewalks" and offer little, if any, ministry opportunities. Why is there such a difference? Consider the following . . .The first church sees the Summer as the perfect time to offer ministry because children are not in school and it only takes a week . . . or even a few days of Summer break for parents to begin looking for things they can involve their children in while school is off. These churches see offering ministry in the summer as their prime time all year long to engage children - and families - and offer day camps, VBS, Summer Sunday school, mid-week events, service opportunities and even mission trips for children and families. Yes, doing these things means more work - and more volunteers are needed, but they see it as time and effort well spent.
The second church sees the Summer as a time when the staff and volunteers need a "break". They reduce their opportunities for children to just Sunday school . . . and in some cases, they do not even offer this. They believe it is too difficult to find volunteers in the summer, so they reduce the opportunities for ministry to children and families.
So what is the difference between these churches which allows one to see the summer as a time of opportunity and the other to see it as a time to, "take off"? I believe both churches care very much about children and families, but I do believe it is possible the second church has become burdened and overwhelmed by the work involved in getting and keeping volunteers, so adding to the things they already do throughout the year is just too overwhelming.
Why does this happen? How can they move and "join" the other type of church? I'd love to hear what you think about this and throughout the coming week, I'll share some of my thoughts and suggestions.
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