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I want to challenge your thinking about summer. You can still go on a trip, play in the pool, and camp with the kids. But what if you decided to make it a missional summer? Instead of counting the days until it was over, make your summer count!
Our lives as Christians are not just about self, which is a tough concept when we face the summer months. It seems that summer is designed as a built-in "take a break" time of the year. Take a break from school, work, and even church stuff. But your summer can be the moment that you engage in the mission rather than disengage from the world.
Here are eight tips for making your summer count.
1. Look at people with eternity in mind. Everyone has an eternity in front of them. We need to see them as God does and care for them like it counts.
2. Show some hospitality. Believers should be the people that everyone else wants to be around. So be the person who invites everyone over for a cookout or a game night. Remember, you're the ambassador for Christ so get into the lives of people living outside the kingdom.
3. Watch for a chance to serve. People give away all of their energy on family, work, and menial chores. Look for ways that you can care for your neighbors — even if it is just cooking a simple dinner for them.
4. Visit someone new. Look around your community and find someone who needs a friend. Maybe it is visiting in a nursing home or rocking babies in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital. Make your days count with people who feel they don't.
5. Go somewhere unexpected. It is not too late to get your family's name on the list for a mission trip. Leave your inhibitions behind and get going to a place that needs to hear about Jesus whether it's downtown or to the other side of the globe.
6. Take somebody with you. Whatever you do, don't do it alone! Take your family, get your Sunday school class involved, or invite the whole church to go out on mission. And make sure to take the kids. They're ready to change the world, so let them.
7. Be truthful. Missional believers contend for the faith while speaking in a way understandable to the hearer. No matter what — be ready to tell the story of Jesus.
8. Love like Jesus. He lived a robust life of caring for the lost. He did it by meeting their needs and telling them the truth. And I can think of no better way to make your summer count than doing both of those.
This article is courtesy of HomeLife Magazine.