Your students are ready to be out of school and enjoying summer break. Let’s be honest, we are ready for it too! Every week at youth as the school years draws closer and closer to closing, you can feel the excited, restless tension in the air with students.
Summer time is a prime time for youth ministry between trips, laid back schedules, and such this is a good time to cultivate relationships with students and help them accelerate in their faith! However, every youth leader faces the same predicament each summer of what exactly is the perfect kick-off to start the summer.
Every summer I begin the same way, with a lock-OUT. Yes, I know it is tiring, but here are all the reasons to do one as well as some tips!
1) Last Day of School
What better way to begin the summer than the last day of school being locked OUT of the church having some fun?!
2) Intern Initiation
This is a great night to baptize the summer interns by fire in youth ministry! They will be with students all night long getting to know them, helping, and learning the dynamics of the student ministry.
3) All of the activities you can never find an excuse to do, you finally have it!
Every 2 to 3 hours we switch activities: Pool party at a house, laser tag, bowling, putt putt, movie theatre, take over Waffle House, and worship at sunrise at a park! A lot of these things you can knock out in 1 night of fun!
4) Cost is low
Due to it being group rates on everything, I got away with all of those activities for just $25 a piece last year!
5) Roll out the summer theme
At the sunrise worship, I have a student or 2 lead acoustic worship, and then I roll out our summer theme and verse! It is a great way to set the pace for summer.
6) Shifts, shifts, shifts
I always have volunteers who will stay with myself and the students all night long. However, this is the perfect time to have fresh leaders show up at each activity. They can be involved without having to drink an extraordinary amount of Mountain Dew.
7) Post Lock-OUT crash
Let’s face it… after a busy school year our students really do need to catch up on sleep. The whole idea of summer break is to get an actual “break.” The sleeping that will happen the following day will help them begin the break rested.