It's common – we hit the "summer slump" in ministry as faithful volunteers head into a vacation. Maintaining the ministry momentum can be difficult but don't despair – you can hack your summer ministry in the following ways:
Use YouTube/Tracks for the singing time. Putting together a whole worship team can be tricky during the summer. I would set 2 or 3 times in the eight weeks of summer to have worship via track or YouTube. Make sure you download it to your computer so you don't get ads and play them out of PowerPoint or your presentation software. Get a few more singers up there (not just one) to fill the stage and have a great time lifting up the name of Jesus.
Create family services. Kids ministry can be a hard thing to maintain during the summer. Again, pick 3 or 4 Sundays during the eight weeks and have them be family services. Have busy bags for the kids and have 'augments' in the service directly related to kids. It's a great opportunity to celebrate kids.
Utilize video messages with discussion. If you're a smaller church (20-60), you can show a video message and then have a time of discussion and prayer after. This means that one of your elders could lead it. You could also pre-record an interview-style message on Zoom and have that played as well.
Change up the format. You can start with something other than four songs. You can start with a "minute to win it" game or an extended greeting time. Utilize the summer to have BBQs, church picnics, and other fun things that will engage your community and allow congregants to invite their friends.
Don't back off outreach to youth and kids. This is the one thing you need to ramp up in the summer is your ministry to youth and kids. This is prime time for relational connections to be built with your community as it relates to youth and kids. Seeing all the fun things you're doing with kids and youth will translate into goodwill for the future regarding ministry in your community.
The summer is often the time when you'll get guests visiting. This is not a time to dial back; it's a time to get the most out of your summer ministry season. How else do you hack your summer?
Jeremiah works as an Effectiveness Coach with the ABNWT District of the PAOC. He is a passionate and creative leader who believes that the church is the hope of the world. He uses collaboration, innovation, and inspiration to challenge churches and their leadership to engage in the only mission Jesus ever sent his church on: making disciples.