Don’t Forget to Keep Community in Your Summer Schedule

Every year when summer rolls around, we can’t help but feel like we’re back on summer break, even if our 9 to 5 work schedule doesn’t change a bit. The sun, the vacations, and the longer days are good for our souls.

For many of you, summer also means a break from leading or hosting your small group. (And let’s be honest, that break is a well-deserved and much needed one!) Just because you aren’t meeting regularly with your small group doesn’t mean you should lose touch completely, though. Take this summer break to build in some fun and continue to strengthen the bonds of community you formed throughout the year.

The people you are ministering to work hard every day, and whether their work involves heavy labor, cubicles, or chasing toddlers, summer break is never really summer break. The ups and downs of life don’t stop when your group year ends, so make it a point to stay connected over the summer months. You still need one another.

So get out the calendar and send off an email to your group. Try to find one weekend afternoon or evening a month to get together for the single purpose of enjoying each other’s company and staying connected. Here are some ideas to get you going:

• Host a cookout.
• Go to the lake or go camping.
• Try out a new restaurant in town.
• Play softball, kickball, volleyball, etc.
• Have a game night.
• Throw a birthday party for all the summer birthdays in your group.

It really doesn’t matter what you do, it just matters that your primary objective is togetherness and fun. Proverbs 17:22 tells us very clearly that “a joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” There are way too many dry bones and broken spirits all around us—we all could use some joy instead.

And one last thing—have fun yourself! You need it as much as they do.

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Laura Magness is a content specialist for Lifeway’s Discipleship in Context and smallgroup.com. A graduate of Samford University and Dallas Theological Seminary, she now lives in Nashville, TN, with her husband and their 1-year-old son.