When faced with deciding whether to continue or not continue Christian education throughout the summer months, it may be helpful to take this example one step further. If twelve to thirteen hours of Christian education are not offered, a significant number of valuable opportunities for spiritual growth are sacrificed. Most Christians will agree that the body of Christ longs to embrace life-long learning, regardless of the time or season. Benefits of summer education can be as simple as providing more relaxed contexts for learners to be fully present with one another around an issue, or as powerful as exploring a new model for Sunday mornings such as weekly intergenerational education. If a church regularly decides not to meet for education during the season of green, growing things, it may mean missing a variety of opportunities to look at God’s creation and Biblical themes through another lens. There is richness in summer Christian educational experiences for all ages just as there is richness in the season!
Creative tools and ideas are available for congregations to provide dynamic educational ministry each summer in the midst of seasonal needs. One such tool is the all-church, intergenerational church school curriculum with a focus on mission provided as part of the PC(USA) denominational curriculum We Believe: God’s Word for God’s People. Although this material addresses issues of summer staffing and attendance, the intentional emphases of the design are the opportunities for children four years old through adults to study faith in action together. The theme for this summer is “God’s Call: Our Vocation.” All ages are guided to discover the many ways we are called to be God’s disciples in the world. Each lesson and activity is based in Scripture. The texts come to life through the stories of our brothers and sisters in Christ, living their faith daily through Presbyterian mission projects and partnerships.
Churches offering education through the summer months quickly discover that all Christian education does not necessarily take place on Sunday morning. Vacation Bible schools (VBS) have long been a tradition for summer Christian education. In fact, some say that a one or two week Bible school experience for several hours each day, or a weekly Bible school night, offers more continuity and impact than a month of Sundays. Presbyterian congregations are reporting a renewal of commitment to VBS programs. After the success of the summer 2004 We Believe VBS curriculum, God Calls Us: Around the World in 5 Days, churches wrote the publishers to describe the fun of creating airplane models for children to climb into and passports to be stamped for the journey. This summer many churches are taking their members by train Around the World in 5 Days: Living as Forgiven Children of God to experience mission in five more countries.
Ideas for quality summer Christian education are endless! When planning for your summer educational ministry, ask yourselves, “What is unique about the season? How can we do things we do not normally have the opportunity to do? Where is God calling us to grow and learn this summer?” Maybe your congregation will lift up the growing season as the essential asset for summer education. Why not create an all-church garden project with the produce going to a community shelter or food pantry? Biblical studies to coincide with the summer’s weekly garden chores might focus on Scriptures about growth, the fruits of the Spirit, or stories with seeds or farm images such as the “Parable of the Sower.” When asking what you can do in summer that you do not normally do, remember to think outside: offer church school on the lawn under the trees, borrow a tent for the season and call your summer program a “summer camp meeting,” or meet each week at a member’s home for a backyard house church.
The case for exciting Christian education in the summer is very powerful. The story goes that one Sunday a church asked each deacon and elder to share his or her experience of faith in worship. Each testimony was different. The officers came to a more mature, searching faith at various ages or by personal circumstances, but one theme became very clear. Most of these adults recounted a summer of camp, vacation Bible school, or a unique summer Christian education experience that made an impact on their spiritual formation.
Christian education in the summer. Why not? How? When? And where? The opportunities for growth in Christian faith and knowledge are as boundless as the summer season! For information about Congregational Ministries Publishing’s summer curriculum options go to www.pcusa.org/curriculum. |
