Holidays offer us the potential for us to refresh but they can also be the reason that we regress. Instead of slipping into a state of spiritual sedation, use the summer to explore your faith and stay excited about it.
Join the club
You're not going to be the only young Christian whose looking for ways to stay faithful while school's out during the summer months. Or the only adult who tends to be drawn to bright, shiny things (mainly the sun) and misses more services than you should. To stop your faith being put on the back burner while you're off from work or school, club together with your Christian friends. There are plenty opportunities to volunteer at Christian camps, clubs, festivals and daytime activities or you can choose to just attend as a guest. If you're feeling really creative, you could even organise your own mini version with your own kids, their friends and their parents.
Don't take a break from church
Summer holidays and schedules mean that more people than usual skip church. It might be impossible to attend your regular church or regular church service because you're out of the country or staycationing miles away, but you can always check out a church close to your accommodation in your home country or abroad. Forward planning is your friend here. Just as you map out the itinerary for your holiday making sure not miss out on beach days, trips to historical attractions and sightseeing spots, add church to your to do list.
Read to feed your spirit
During term time the luxury of reading for pleasure isn't something that a lot of us manage to fit in. Set up a summer book club with your friends where you pick a different Christian book to read and discuss at each meeting. If you find it hard to get your all of your friends together in person over the holidays, make your meeting virtual. And if that doesn't work or you'd rather just do it on your own. Set yourself a summer reading list. And stick to it! You can even dedicate time to individual Bible study. (That task you keep telling yourself you have no time for.)
Set yourself a spiritual challenge
A lot of people use the summer break to learn a new skill or discover or change something about themselves and you can adopt the same approach in relation to you summer spiritual growth. Staying active in our faith during the holidays is a great way to make a move to prioritise it further and rediscover a passion for it that's not confined within the walls of our ordinary routine. Decide on one or more things to improve on over the coming weeks. Maybe you'll focus on amping up your prayers, listening out for God's voice or decreasing the time it takes you to forgive.
Refresh your routine
Your youth group might out for the summer or your Bible study group might have decided to press pause for a few months while each member goes on their family holiday but that doesn't mean you have to abandon a routine altogether. Use the summer to devise a new one, one that targets your personal spiritual goals, as discussed above, or one that just switches up your spiritual life. Having different things to look forward to will help keep the passion alive and discover new ways to strengthen your faith.
