10 inspired ideas to celebrate God, family, and fun this
summer
Summer evenings are unbeatable -- kids and families can't get
enough of being outside together, enjoying the smell of fresh-cut
grass, an impromptu touch football game, or a leisurely walk
through the neighborhood. So why not capture the fun for ministry
moments?
We asked children's ministers to share their favorite,
tried-and-true ideas for summer evening fun to come up with a list
of 10 fabulous ways to celebrate God and each other on a warm
summer evening.
1. Father's Day Car Show Celebrate Father's Day
with an outrageously fun car show guaranteed to draw dads. Sponsor
a car show that showcases antique, collectors', quirky, and modern
cars in your church parking lot. Promote the show throughout your
church and auto clubs in your area. Have participants and guests
vote for best in show and other honors, and award trophies.
Consider selling snacks and beverages to raise money for your
ministry. An event like this is sure to draw tons of curious
visitors, lots of cars, and lots of fun.
2. Night Sky Insight Contact a local
conservatory or college and invite astronomy experts to bring
telescopes to your ministry. Ask experts to provide insight into
the summer night-time sky. Rarely do kids get to see the stars
through a telescope, so give families a chance to look for stars
and planets, and talk about what they see. After a presentation
about the sky, hand out plastic telescopes (available at craft and
hobby stores), and let kids decorate them with permanent markers.
Tie your night-time viewing to Genesis 22:17 (Abraham's descendants
are as numerous as the stars) or Philippians 2:15 (God wants us to
shine like stars).
3. Luminary Worship Create an outdoor worship
space by placing glow sticks inside glass or plastic jars. Arrange
the jars in a large worship circle, and create a lit pathway from
your church to the circle. Provide chairs or blankets for families,
and when it's totally dark, use this circle for a devotion, songs,
worship, and skits.
4. C.A.P.E.R. (Caring About People Encourages a
Response) Invite families to come to your church for an
evening of mysterious adventures. Organize service-oriented
adventures that allow your families to care for others, such as
dressing as clowns and delivering balloons to a nursing home or
doing yardwork for seniors. Simply ask families to choose an event
once they arrive. Provide all needed supplies, disposable cameras
for fun photo opportunities, and a coordinator for each event, and
set families loose to serve others.
5. Vegetable Garden Visit Visit a church
member's or neighbor's vegetable garden for an evening tour. Ask
the gardener to introduce families to all the plants growing and
talk about what it takes to care for the garden. Let kids walk
around the garden and identify various vegetables, pick weeds, hoe
a small section, and perhaps even pick a few ripe vegetables if
it's okay with the gardener.
Provide a variety of fresh vegetables for families to wash,
slice, and taste after the tour. Talk about all the amazing things
about the plants God created, such as how seeds make new plants for
vegetables the following year.
6. Make Your Own Ice Cream Let family members
make single-serving portions of ice cream. Supply premixed ice
cream ingredients, one quart-size and one gallon-size resealable
plastic bags, duct tape, rock salt, ice, and toppings. Making the
ice cream is easy: Pour a cup or two of liquid ice cream mix in
each quart-size bag and double-seal it with duct tape. Put this bag
inside the gallon-size bag and pack it with ice and a spoonful of
rock salt. Seal the larger bag with duct tape, and then shake and
squeeze the bags until the ice cream sets. Provide towels in case
the bags get too cold to handle. When the ice cream is ready, say a
prayer of thanks, share the toppings, and enjoy. For an ice cream
recipe, go to www.childrensministry.com and click on Web
Extras.
8. Meet and Greet Gather your families and tons
of ice cream treats, and head for your local parks and sports
fields. Have families deliver treats to sports spectators and
people enjoying the evening at the park. As families distribute the
treats, they can introduce themselves and casually share about your
church.
7. Missionary Mission Celebrate your
denomination's missionary families with this event. Get information
about missionary families. Create trading-card size pieces of card
stock so each family will have five. Let families decorate cards
with a missionary family's photo, names, birthdays, and country of
service on one side. On the other side, include prayer requests and
other details. Have families select one card to keep and trade the
others with other families. Families can use their cards to pray
for the missionaries. Finish with a movie about a foreign land and
snacks from that country. For movie ideas, go to www.childrens
ministry.com and click on Web Extras.
9. Beach or Park Cleanup After the day's heat
dwindles, gear families with safety gloves and trash bags, then
embark on a cleanup blitz of a local beach, recreation area, or
park. Once the work is done, celebrate with s'mores and toasted
marshmallows over a grill.
10. Bonfire Bonanza Get your town's permission
first for this community outreach event. For your final summer-fun
spree, hold a bonfire in a gravel parking lot (not asphalt or
concrete). Collect discarded lumber from builders or ask your
congregation for scrap lumber. Invite your entire community for
snacks, songs, and information about your church. Ask your senior
pastor to open with a prayer for kids and families as they prepare
to return to school.
For safety, you'll need to keep people at least 15 feet
(possibly more, depending on your local fire department's
requirements) from the bonfire. Make sure you abide by any
requirements for fire personnel (such as having a fire truck and
firefighters present) and water access. A large trash container
works well for cleanup because you'll need to dispose of large
quantities of ash and any unburnt lumber. cm
The following creative children's ministers contributed
their ideas to this article: Shelley Chappell of Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma; Courtney Wilson of Rockford, Illinois; Mary Davis of
Montrose, Iowa; Nancy Ferguson of Richmond, Virginia; Gerri Baker
of Port Isabel, Texas; Lisa Leonard of New Providence, New Jersey;
and Lisa Stadler of San Diego, California.
