It’s the summer holidays once again – not that you’d necessarily realise this fact. For many children and young people, these summer weeks are just an extension of being stuck at home, without the prospect even of a break away in the sunshine. Any other year, youth and children’s groups might have paused for the holidays. Many of us would have been preparing for (and recovering from) wild and frantic youth camps or holiday clubs. But not so in 2020 – the year we all had to adapt and improvise.
This summer is going to be a time to rest, recover and reflect on what we’ve been able to do and what we might still have to figure out. That’s right and proper and extremely necessary. No one can continue at the pace and levels of intensity that has been experienced across the youth and children’s ministry world. But we must also be careful not to ease back so far that we forget the continuing and growing challenges for the children and young people we support. For them, the summer should have been a welcome relief from the academic year and the chance for some unforgettable opportunities and memorable moments. Their annual taster of the expanded community and the chance to re-energize their enthusiasm and revitalise their faith.
What does this mean for summer 2020? It probably depends on the type of person you are reading this. If you need no further encouragement to organise the next big mind-blowing activity, you may need to check yourself. Take a break. Make sure you are not heading for a weary heap sometime around early October. However, if you know that you are looking forward to a few weeks off simply because “it’s the summer and we always stop meeting over the summer”, perhaps you need to ask the question… “should we?”
However you are feeling this summer, here are 7 things you might want to try as something a little different to help the youth group stay connected, create some memories and remain together even when keeping their distance…
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Why not try to arrange a visit at some point over the break? You and another team member can visit a young persons' home with a gift of some doughnuts and have a social distanced chat, just to see how they’re getting on. You could add a poll element with some standardised fun questions to ask the whole of the group (e.g. favourite lockdown activity, ideal guest for the next time the group meets face-to-face, etc.). They could submit their answers in other ways too, such as via social media, and you could keep the group updated on the results as you make your way around the different homes too.
Many young people will have missed the summer camp classic… the silent disco. But don’t let being apart prevent them from taking the opportunity to dress up and share their favourite tracks. Set up a couple of different playlists on sites like Spotify or Youtube, give everyone has access to them and on your next Zoom call, kick off a virtual silent disco.
Get creative as a group and challenge everyone to create the best den they can at home before a spot of comparing and contrasting. Prizes for the winners are optional but if you do, you can always run a poll on your video call to determine the victor. You may wish to give the group a little warning to ensure they can dig out the Christmas fairy lights from the loft (and this one can even be done face-to-face if your group is small enough or you’ve got enough outdoor space for it…!)
We’ve had rainbow pictures in windows, (teddy) bear hunts around the neighbourhood and even clapping for key workers so far during in 2020. What about setting the challenge to do something that will bring joy to others? Something that all the group can do and share pictures of on social media? It might even catch on. For example, brainstorm ideas as a group of how you could all chalk the entrance to your home with some sort of a welcome statement (and with permission!). Even if it doesn’t catch on, it will provide the opportunity to chat about the most interesting person they met or the best introduction they’d had.
Hands up if you as the leader always pick the activities for each session?! Yep. Us too. So why not hand over that responsibility to the group members for a one-off virtual session? You could create a “DIY” session plan for a youth night with each person adding their favourite activity to the night.
Need inspiration? Check our Zoom Pick'n'Mix sessions HERE
A Zoom Quiz is nothing new – and perhaps you have had more than your fill of them already by now – so put an extra spin on it over the summer… Organise a fundraiser quiz that people you know are invited to. You could raise money for your group to go on camp next year or give to a local charity that the group feels passionate about.
Why not try the Quiz that’s included in Urban Saints’ virtual camps resource – Pick n Mix Supersize. CLICK HERE to find out more here.
Do you know someone who is a great cook and would be happy to share their skill with young people? Choose a suitable simple recipe with around 5-6 household ingredients. Make sure that all the group members have the ingredients and then using Zoom or similar everyone cooks together led by instructions from the 'chef'.
Again, we’ve rounded up some classic Camps recipes in our Pick n Mix Supersize resource that would be perfect for this activity (and while you’re taking a look you might find other inspiration for creating memorable moments together this summer too…!) CLICK HERE to check out the resource.
Never underestimate the vital importance of rest during this summer and you shouldn’t feel bad about prioritising your health and well-being. But let’s also acknowledge that this is a truly unusual year and might be the very summer to abandon the usual patterns and keep reaching out to those young people in your care. Don’t do all these things (and more besides… yes, we know the kinds of people who need this reminder!) but take a moment to consider what one thing you could do this year. It could be the one thing that everyone looks forward to and no one will ever forget!
If you have a great idea of how to "remain together" with your group over the summer we'd love to hear it. You can share your ideas with us and other Energize users on our Facebook Users' Forum CLICK HERE to post/join