Need fun ideas for summer evenings? Here are 9 inspired ideas to celebrate God, family, and fun this summer.
Summer evenings are unbeatable. Kids and families can’t get enough of being outside together. They can enjoy the smell of fresh-cut grass, an impromptu flag football game, or a leisurely walk through the neighborhood. So why not capture the fun for ministry moments?
We asked children’s ministers to share their favorite, tried-and-true ideas for summer evenings. Enjoy this list of ways to celebrate God and each other this season!
9 Wonderful Ideas for Summer Evenings
1. Super-Cool Car Show
Sponsor a car show in your church parking lot. Showcase antique, collector, quirky, and modern cars. Promote the show throughout your church and local auto clubs. Have participants and guests vote for best in show and other honors. Then award trophies.
Consider selling snacks and beverages to raise money for your children’s ministry. An event like this is sure to draw tons of curious visitors, lots of cars, and loads of fun!
2. Night Sky Insight
Contact a local observatory or college and invite astronomy experts to bring telescopes to your ministry. Ask experts to provide insight into the summer nighttime sky. Rarely do kids get to see the stars through a telescope. So give families a chance to look for stars and planets, and talk about what they see.
After a presentation about the sky, hand out plastic telescopes (available at craft and hobby stores). Then let kids decorate them with permanent markers. Tie your nighttime viewing to Genesis 22:17 (Abraham’s descendants are as numerous as the stars) or Philippians 2:15 (God wants us to shine like stars).
3. Luminary Worship
Create an outdoor worship space by placing glow sticks inside glass or plastic jars. Arrange the jars in a large worship circle, and create a lit pathway from your church to the circle. Provide chairs or blankets for families. When it’s totally dark, use the circle for a devotion, songs, worship, and skits.
4. C.A.P.E.R. (Caring About People Encourages a Response)
Invite families to your church for a summer evening of mysterious adventures. Organize service-oriented adventures that allow families to care for others. Examples include dressing in cheerful colors and delivering balloons to a nursing home or doing yardwork for people who need some help.
Simply ask families to choose an event once they arrive. Provide all needed supplies, an email address or social media page to share photos of activities, and a coordinator for each event. Then set families loose to serve others.
5. Vegetable Garden
Visit a church member’s or neighbor’s vegetable garden for an evening tour. Ask the gardener to introduce families to all the plants and talk about what it takes to care for the garden. Let kids walk around the garden and identify various vegetables, pick weeds, and hoe a small section. Perhaps they can pick a few ripe vegetables, if it’s okay with the gardener.
After the tour, provide a variety of fresh vegetables for families to wash, slice, and taste. Talk about all the amazing things about the plants God created. For example, seeds make new plants for vegetables the following year.
