As we move into the warm weather months, summer can be one of the most encouraging and challenging seasons in the life of your church plant.
On one hand, the rhythms are different. Families travel. Kids are out of school. Vacations, sports, camps, cookouts, and weekends away can make every Sunday feel unpredictable. You may look around and wonder where everyone went.
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But viewed rightly, summer is not an interruption to the mission. It can be one of the greatest opportunities for the mission. |
If we want to engage the city with the gospel, we have to equip our people to live embedded in the city. That means helping them see their summer plans with spiritual eyes. Vacations, ball games, neighborhood gatherings, pool days, cookouts, and time outdoors are not merely breaks from normal life. They are opportunities to live as disciples of Jesus among people who need the hope of the gospel.
So, encourage your people to enjoy the summer, but to enjoy it on mission. Teach them to ask simple questions: Who has God placed around me? Where are the open doors for conversation? How can I build relationships, show hospitality, serve my neighbors, and speak of Jesus with clarity and love?
You may also consider anchoring one or two missional opportunities your church can rally around. Your people may be scattered throughout much of the summer, but give them a clear moment to gather, invite, and serve with people in your community for the sake of connecting them to God and the church.
And as you engage your city this summer, would you also pray for those preparing to plant this fall?
Every year, as schools get back in session and rhythms return, Send Network sees hundreds of new churches launch across North America. For many planters, these summer weeks are the final stretch of engaging their city with the gospel, gathering people, making disciples, and preparing to covenant together as a new church.
Pray for them. Pray for new church launches. Pray for sending churches. Pray for strength, endurance, rest, and rejuvenation for your fellow planters and their families. Pray for clear vision and deep dependence on the Lord.
May summer be more than a season to get through. May these months be a seed-planting season of gospel engagement, disciple-making, prayer, and preparation for a God-given harvest this fall!
Noah Oldham, Send Network Vice President of Operations
QUICK LINKS
→ How to Help Your Church Find Evangelistic Opportunities
→ Maximize Your Summer: Plan for Fall Ministry
→ Podcast: How Do I Engage the City?