By Steve Horn As a pastor, I seemed to always face the temptation to dread the summer because of the “summer slump.” The truth is too many times as churches and as leaders we “throw away the summer.” We decide that there are too many distractions, too many vacations, so we must wait for the fall. The problem is that we lose great momentum. So, even though some summer slump in churches is inevitable, I encourage all of us to “Embrace the Summer.” How do we do that in the church? Resist the notion that you cannot grow this summer. People move in the summer. We have our largest evangelistic outreach of the year in Vacation Bible School. These are opportunities to grow. Raise the expectations for the summer. Often times, we set up our own failure by low expectations. I encourage us, since we know that there are challenges to the summer, to … Work Harder. Set the tone by your own preparation. Seek other ways to stay connected. Reset the mission of your class, small group, or church. The summer may be just the time to shake things up, try new things, and then be ready for the fall. Rally around something. Have a “Summer Project.” Just do something. Rally around a cause. People will stay connected … [Read more...]