A story about summer youth ministry from Aaron Braaksma at Lambrick Park Church in Victoria, BC!
In the past, we’ve struggled to engage kids during the summer break in an intentional way. For years we would host 2-3 big summer events where we took kids paintballing or to the water park on the mainland. They were well attended, but last year I felt as though God wanted us to switch gears in our focus.
This year we decided to host “Summer Youth” every Wednesday from mid-July to mid-August. It’s very low-key. Some weeks we play road hockey. Other times we go to the park nearby and throw frisbees around. It doesn’t require much planning and yet it’s also been an absolute blast.
It’s open for all grades including recently graduated Grade 12s as well as any up-and-coming Grade 6s. That way new students looking for a youth group next year (maybe the week after attending camp) could join and get plugged in before September. And also our own Grade 5s in the church can come and make connections with leaders and other youth, too, before everything kicks off in the fall.
The heart behind it is to make space for connection during a season where some students might find themselves adrift for various reasons (family circumstances, bad sleeping patterns, isolation etc.). I especially felt the need to provide a regular meeting place for the students who weren’t able to attend camp.
This experience has been a reminder of the importance of listening and being sensitive to the needs of those I serve. As well as being open to letting God take the ministry in new directions. In the past, when we hosted big summer events, we would get 40+ kids. But during the week this summer we get around 15-20. For some that would be a discouragement, but it’s been nothing but the opposite for us. Numbers are not always the test for whether you’re meeting real needs. Our group this year may be small, but it’s obvious that some of these kids really needed a consistent meeting place for Godly connection.
One dad personally thanked me since his son often feels disconnected during summer break – and hearing that only further confirmed to me that this was God’s leading.
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