I love summer. I love the sunshine. I love the change of pace. I love the opportunity to get outdoors more. And I love all of the special events summer brings like concerts in the park and fireworks and family vacations.
However, my appreciation for summer as an adult is nowhere near my appreciation of summer as a kid. When I was a kid summer meant absolutely no responsibilities and endless enjoyment of bike rides, swimming, horseback riding, exploring, and even an occasional bike ride to Charlie’s market for a 10 cent chick-o-stick. Sadly, I am not sure many kids today can relate to such lazy summer days spent out in God’s creation.
Nonetheless, I think most of us appreciate the change of pace that comes with summer, including a break for our AWANA leaders and SS teachers and less church activities. However, though a change of pace can be good, it is also important to keep connecting with each other, to keep pursuing spiritual growth opportunities, to keep engaging in a faith-stretching pursuit of God’s will. Toward this end, and in view of our vision statement, I would like to recommend three different ways to engage in faith stretching pursuit of God’s will this summer.
For faith-stretching pursuit of God’s will in “His Church”…
JOIN IN THE FELLOWSHIP
A neat tradition we have begun at Renton Bible is meeting at 10am, before worship, for a time of fellowship. Each week someone provides light refreshments and we gather 30 minutes before the service for some koinonia! By koinonia, I mean more than just chatting about the latest sports debacle or political scandal. I am talking about authentic connections by which we might encourage one another in our walk with Christ. As we read in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
For faith-stretching pursuit of God’s will in “Personal Holiness”…
DEEPEN DISCIPLESHIP
It could be that God would have you take “encourage one another” a step further by connecting with someone for mutual discipleship and accountability. We have some excellent resources listed on the yellow sheet in the foyer to use with one or two others for “spurring one another on.” Is there someone you might want to meet with every week or two for spiritual encouragement? I would love to help you get connected.
For faith-stretching pursuit of God’s will in “Personal Ministry”…
SHARE THE LOVE
Summer also provides a tremendous opportunity to connect with those outside of church. While we tend to hibernate during the long, wet winter months, summer gives us a great excuse to work in the yard, take walks, have BBQ’s. It can be fun to fire up the grill and invite a neighbor over for hot dogs. Or if you are heading to a summer concert at the park or the like, why not mention it to a co-worker and see if they would like to join you. You could just head to Coulon for a walk or Cougar mountain for a hike and invite a friend to join you or your family. Sometimes, outreach is as simple as going out of your way to connect, serve and build relationships with those in our neighborhoods, extended families, and workplaces.
Of course, outreach can also include joining with other believers in a concerted effort to share Christ’s love in our community. For this, there is no summer time outreach like Vacation Bible School. For some, ministry with children, or just the commitment of serving every night for a week, may seem like a stretch. But when we think of the terrific opportunity it provides to share Christ’s love, not only with the kids in our church, but with children in our community, it is well worth the commitment! And, by the way, it is also a lot of fun for the adults as well!!!
By all means, I hope that the change of pace that comes with summer will create extra space for you to relax and enjoy God’s blessings. But I also pray, for all of us, that we will take advantage of the unique opportunities summer brings to partner with God for Kingdom purposes, whether it is richer fellowship, deeper discipleship, or reaching out to people to share the love of God. Let this summer be a season of faith-stretching pursuit of God’s will!
In Christ’s Love, Pastor Dan