Christian Summer Time Activities To Help Your Kids Grow In Their Faith
Summertime is amazing.
The sunshine.
The change in your routine.
Being outdoors for hours on end.
Your kids being dead tired at the end of the day because they played so hard! 🙂
But there are some down sides to all this sunshine and change in routine. Namely the fact that it can be hard to keep up a regular time of teaching the Bible to your kids. During the school year and the colder months, it is natural to sit down with your kids and be intentional about training them to love the Lord.
Then, BLAM, summer happens with its vacations, summer sports, yard work, and more. Before you know it, summer is ending and you realize you haven’t had a cohesive family Bible study in a month, you’ve missed church for three consecutive weeks due to summer trips and travel, and well, just the general laziness of not wanting to be that intentional all summer long!
I get it. Especially the lazy part. Summer is such a nice change of pace from the rest of the year. It allows for more freedom in being outdoors, especially with little ones. And I will be honest, I want to just pull up a lounge chair, watch my kids splash in the kiddie pool and do NOTHING.
But, surprisingly enough, after about two hours of doing nothing, my whole family is driving each other crazy. We need intentional, albeit more relaxing, activities for our summer.
And I don’t want my kids to miss three months worth of opportunities to teach them more about the Lord and His love for them.
So, what is a Christian mom to do with those lazy summer days?
Well, let’s check out some ideas for Christian summer time activities to help your kids grow in their faith!
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Gardening
It doesn’t matter if you have a huge vegetable garden or a small planter for flowers, here are some great ways to incorporate your faith into the activity of gardening.
Demonstrate What Good Soil Looks Like
As you prepare your garden soil for planting, spend a few minutes showing your child the four different kinds of soil mentioned in the Parable of the Sower. You can read the full text here. Remind them that God wants them to have hearts that are good soil prepared for receiving Him.
Planting Seeds
Discuss how important it is to share the Gospel with the lost. Talk about ways you can do that together over the summer. Perhaps show them some Gospel tracts that they can use as witnessing tools.
Weeds
As you weed, explain to your kids that when Adam and Eve sinned God had to place the consequences of those sins on this fallen world we live in. One of those consequences is weeds. Use this time of weeding to remind them that sin has consequences but God sent His Son to take away those consequences for us.
Watering
Explain that God wants us to “water” unbelievers. In this passage Paul talks about spiritual seeds being planted and watered.
Ask your kids about ways they can water the seeds that other Christians have planted. Some suggestions you can have could be praying for unbelievers, sharing a Bible or other Christian book with a friend, or inviting a friend to come to Sunday School and church with them.
Harvesting
Talk about how God places missionaries in the field to help gather the spiritual harvest. Explain that your kids can be missionaries right where they are. Ask your kids if they would consider going on a mission trip someday as a family. Pack a care package to send to a missionary that your church supports.
Sports Related
In our small town, sports is taken way more seriously than it probably should be. Because of that, sports leagues are started for kids who are as young as three years old! Growing up, my husband was one of the kids that participated in every sport possible over the summer months as a way to burn off some of his excess boy energy.
If your kid is inclined to enjoy the sports and physical activities offered over the summer, why not take the opportunity to use that natural interest for conversation starters?
Practice Makes Perfect
Discuss how the Christian life is a journey of slowly growing to be more like Christ daily. Talk about ways that God might be prompting them to take steps that could cause growth in their spiritual walks with God.
Team Spirit
Christians are all part of the body of Christ. As such, they are a team. If your child is part of a team sport, ask them how the lessons they learn working with their team can be applied to helping their relationships with the body of Christ at their local church. Do they need to mend friendships with kids from their youth group? Perhaps, they need to find a mentor for their faith from another mature believer. Remind them they are on the same team as Jesus.
Perseverance
Sports can be hard. They require lots of perseverance. So does living the Christian faith. As you drive between all the sports practices, maybe try to have a few conversations about ways the Apostle Paul show perseverance in his faith.
Summer Reading Programs
As the wife to a librarian, I have to mention summer reading programs. Check out your own local library for the summer programs they offer. Also, most libraries have awesome reading challenges for kids to complete over the course of their summer.
Reading Bingo Cards
Make a bingo card that has topics like “Read a book of the Bible”, “Read a biography of a famous Christian,” and “Read a Christian Fiction Book” Pick topics that will pique your child’s interest and take them to your local library to help them find the books without hurting your pocketbook over the summer months.
Vacation Bible School/Christian Summer Camps
Kids of all ages attend day camps and week long camp programs of all kinds. Check out local churches in your area to see if they are hosting a Vacation Bible School program that you would be comfortable sending your children to. Also, don’t forget to join in and volunteer so you can be a part of their summer fun!
Summit Ministries
If you have kids that are 16 or older, I have to make a recommendation that you send them to Summit Ministries. Summit is a two week intensive (and ridiculously fun!) Christian worldview training camp for Christians ages 16-25. They will get hours of classroom time, discussion time, and meal times spent with world class speakers such as John Stonestreet, Jeff Myers, J. P. Moreland, and Mike Adams to name a few.
Having been to this camp as a student and then having the privilege to work on staff there for one summer, I cannot recommend this program highly enough to Christian parents! Send your kids and let two weeks of their summer be spend preparing them for a life time of confidence in their Christian faith.
Camping
Campfire Talks
There is magic in being gathered around a campfire after eating some hot dogs and s’mores. Seriously, conversations flow so much easier. Questions that normally are awkward to ask seem to pop up with ease. Plus, when you are outside in God’s creation, it really puts everything into perspective in ways that having a chat on the living couch never will have!
Star Gazing
Growing up in the middle of nowhere, I kind of took for granted that there were not lights for miles around to block my view of the stars every night. Then one night, my cousin came to visit and she literally was slack jawed at the sight. She had never seen more than a couple of stars from her vantage point in the city. Unbeknownst to her, there will thousands and thousands of stars to be seen by the naked eye alone!
If your children have never experienced a clear summer night under the stars, find some back road areas to escape to for a late evening and introduce them to the beauty of the heavens that God made!
Hiking/Studying God’s Creation Together
Okay, we have a two year who sets a walking pace of a turtle with arthritis so I doubt we will get to enjoy hiking for a few more years. However I can safely say that it will happen in our future. Even on the short, painstakingly slow walks that we go on through the park offers many opportunities to stop and admire squirrels, leaves, and lots of dirt.
If you have older kids, you can talk the particulars of how amazing some aspect of God’s creation is as you walk along. Or, if you are like me and have younger kids, you can just focus on reminding them that God made EVERYTHING! (My daughter loves saying that word. 🙂 )
Service Projects
Focus on others in need while doing some activities as a family.
Mow A Yard For A Family In Need
Look around your neighborhood or church family to see if there is a family in need of assistance of maintaining their yard. Perhaps a newly widowed elderly person who could use a kind action to help them along? Or a family who had a new baby and just needs a break from yard work while they settle in as a new family? Maybe a person recovering from some surgery that needs help until they are back on their feet?
There are always those in need. Make it a family project to help out and spend some quality time together serving others in Christ’s name.
Complete a 5k Run/Walk
Five years ago, when we lived in another town, there was a Christian Crisis pregnancy center that held an annual 5k Run/Walk to raise funds for the next year’s budget. My husband and I loved having a reason to work out and prepare for the occasion. Plus, it was wonderful knowing that our efforts were helping to support mothers in crisis pregnancy situations.
Over the summer months, there can be several different charities and causes that hold 5k Run/Walks to raise funds. If there is cause that your family feels God is leading you to support, this can be a energetic fun way to donate money as a family activity!
Make A Free Lemonade Stand
Many kids will host lemonade stands this summer in hopes of earning a few bucks of spending money. Maybe try another approach. Get permission to set up a free lemonade stand at a local park during an exceptionally hot day. Bonus points if you come prepared with Gospel tracks to share along with a cool refreshing drink.
Back Yard Fun
Finally, if you are like my family, sometimes it is just fun to spend time hanging out in your backyard.
Tweek Outdoor Game Ideas
Pinterest is an abundant source of outdoor game ideas for families to play outside in the summer months. Take a few minutes and tweek these ideas to have a Biblical lesson with it. Make a jump rope game that helps you remember the books of the Bible. Set up a hopscotch game featuring the days of creation. If you have a water/sand play table, tell the parable of Wise Man and the Foolish Man using items you have laying around your yard.
Let your creativity be the limit and just have fun thinking of little ways to attach Biblical meaning to the everyday activities you do in your backyard. Your kids will probably surprise you to if you ask them for ideas or suggestions. 🙂
Family Movie Under The Stars
Hang a sheet or use the side of your house as a back drop and project a movie. Some great Christian family options include Courageous
Science Experiments With Meaning
Let’s be honest. Science experiments can be messy. Enjoy doing these Bible based, science related activities during the summer months when you can leave the mess outside.
This book provided by Answers in Genesis does an amazing job of illustrating a Bible lesson while helping kids grasp some basic (and sometimes not so basic) science concepts. It can be a lot of fun to gather the supplies and try these together as a family!
Your Turn
Just because summer time can be a time for crazy changes in routine doesn’t mean that we can’t still find ways to bring Biblical perspective to our kid’s days.
What are some ways that you help your kids stay focused on Christ during the summer months?
Share your ideas in the comments below so we can all give them a try!
Thanks for stopping by!
One Comment
Kelly
I love what you shared about sports! I didn’t play sports growing up and didn’t really “get it.” But now I’ve gotten into watching sports with my boyfriend and love how you pointed out sports can teach kids a lot of important lessons/skills other than winning a game.