Everyone who is half way observant knows that things 'down at church' struggle during the summer. People travel and that hurts attendance and contributions. There are more festivals, sports events, and other activities that call out to families on the weekends. The kids are out of school and everyone hits the road. Many churches experience a summer slump.
I'm interested in turning a summer slump into a summer jump! I confess, though, that it's an uphill battle and one that I do not usually win!
We have some good things going on at Forsythe this summer that I'm looking forward to. I'm not saying that these things will cause people to change vacation schedules ... but maybe in some of the other times when there is a choice they will encourage them to remember that the church operates during the summer too!
*We will have a unity worship with another local Church of Christ on four Sunday nights this summer. We're looking forward to worshiping God together.
*Our Summer Series will focus on the theme of ESCAPE ...from the devil's traps! We will focus on some of the moral challenges of our day. Each of these is a stand-alone sermon, so for those who miss the week before or after, they will not be lost in the one they do hear.
*On Wednesday nights during the summer we are going to study the BOUNDARIES material by Drs. John Townsend and Henry Cloud. Looking forward to that.
As I said, none of that is going to have someone cancel their trip to DisneyWorld. But I do think we can make sure our summer offerings are first-rate so that those who are present won't feel like they've participated in a summer slump!
Love to hear your ideas ... thoughts ... plans for your church this summer!
John
