Well, we've made it to June.
For many of us this means that students have been gone close to a month... so, how's your summer going? If the answer is 'too quickly' than I can relate.
As much as I might like to spend each day of the summer months immersed in the scene to the right, making good use of our summer can be the difference between fumbling our way into the new school year or a GREAT start, between a strong, well-planned year or a chaotic, hap-hazard one.
Here are a few thoughts on how to make good use of the month of June :: please share your additional ideas, thoughts and comments in the comments section below!
- Take a vacation - there's nothing quite like getting away from campus, and work, for a while to renew our focus, passion and perspective.
- Attend a retreat or conference - I'm personally more of a 'retreat kind a guy,' but taking some time to intentionally grow - how ever that looks for you - can also go a long way in renewing focus, passion and perspective.
- Spend some extra time at home - consider working shorter hours (if you can) or 'summer hours' that allow you to come in earlier/later so that you can spend some extra time off campus and with family (if that's you).
- Assessment - if you haven't done any intentional assessment of your ministry efforts from the past year, since your school year concluded, now is the time. Soon our attention will be fully on prep for the upcoming year... and if we want that time to be fruitful, and tracking in the right direction, assessment is a necessity.
- Soul Care - as a part of our assessment, it would probably serve us well to take our 'spiritual temperature' to see how we are doing in our own relationship with Jesus. It can be easy, in the midst of walking alongside college students in need, to pay more attention to their spiritual lives than our own. The summer months can provide some much needed space for renewing our pursuit of the One we believe called us to this important work.
- Connect with your team - if you've got other professional staff that you work with, find some intentional ways to connect now that students are away. Consider a staff retreat, some extended casual (but intentional) one-on-ones for processing the previous year, staff lunches, a BBQ at someone's house where you can invite families, etc. Continuing to build bonds with you team during 'slower months' can really serve you well during the fast-paced school year.
- Connect with other key ministry partners - June can be a great time to connect with other ministers who serve the students on your campus, whether they be faculty and/or staff on campus, pastors in local churches or fellow college ministers on campus. Now is a great time to initiate or further invest in relationships with these important 'co-laborers' in Christ.
- Map out the rest of your summer - I usually like to operate pretty spontaneously, but in order to make sure we aren't scrambling at the end of the summer to get everything ready before students' return, it might be worth spending some time intentionally mapping out the rest of our summer months. When do I start that new initiative? When do I take that much needed vacation? When do I start writing that series of talks or studies? Can I take care of some of the details for the mission trip that might be close to a year away?
The summer months provide us some much needed space for rest and 'uninterrupted' work. I believe that God calls us all to be good stewards of this 'off season' on campus. What are your plans?
Grace and peace to you!
