School is wrapping up, the days are getting longer, and with COVID restrictions easing, we are looking forward to making the most of this summer! Plans are being made for vacations, weddings, camping trips, family reunions, and playing in the sunshine with our kids. With the relaxed feel of summer, and with the added excitement this summer in particular to reconnect, summer is a great time to engage people intentionally. Just to get the juices flowing, here are some practical ideas about how to live on mission this summer. We’d love to have you share your ideas with us on on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Tag @saturatetheworld for a chance to win the Saturate Field Guide for your community to grow as disciple-makers in the everyday stuff of life.
- Summer Happy Hour – We’ve done BBQ’s in the past, but found the best turn out (and most fun!) was a neighborhood happy hour. Huge cheese board and yard games with an open house vibe. People ended up staying quite a long time and everyone got to meet a new face.
- Weekly Game Nights – We do a weekly game night with some neighbors. During COVID, this has looked very different. Lately we will Facetime while we play an online game together.
- We have lunch with our elderly neighbor pretty regularly. We keep an eye out for him (taking out his garbage bins to the curb each week, being available to fix little things around the house, etc.).
- Dog Walking Dates – I have a friend in our neighborhood with small children. They love to walk with our dog so we try to do that regularly.
- Engage Your Kids on Mission – With many kids out of school for the summer, it provides a unique opportunity to concurrently bless people, and to train our kids for a life of gospel-centered service. It could be going to the local zoo or park with another family with young kids, serving with your teens in one of the many summer camps or organizations that offer “summer school” in many cities, volunteering at a local library, or even regularly going on a prayer walk together in your neighborhood.
- Connect with Your Neighbors Online via Facebook or the Next Door app. Ask your immediate neighbors if they have any prayer requests or if they have any practical needs your community could meet. Pray and enlist others in your community to pray with you. Follow up to see how they are doing (if/how God answered).
- Help Friends Move – Many families relocate over summer, and helping pack or unload boxes is a perfect way to serve. Our missional community has helped friends of friends, coworkers, and family who doesn’t know Jesus do the heavy lifting and it’s a such a tangible way to serve them. Also if you have a new neighbor say “hello!” Even if you have to stay distant due to COVID, a sweet treat and a kind note are a wonderful way to welcome someone into the neighborhood.
Enjoy Jesus this Summer
Above all, as in every season, we want you to enjoy the joy of the gospel, that God has come to us, redeemed us, and is making all things new, even us! What a privilege it is to worship Jesus and participate in His mission in every season of the calendar and every season of life. We pray the Holy Spirit guides you and leads you!
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