In preparation for the summer holidays hundreds of mission teams are hard at work. There are talks to write, crafts to plan, and skits to rehearse. Yes, it's not long until caravan parks, schools and church halls around New South Wales, Australia will be overtaken by family mission teams. What a fantastic thought!
Also, don't forget initiatives like the National Training Event that takes place before Christmas, equipping university students for Christian ministry and placing them to support churches for some of the Christmas period.
We also shouldn't forget the numerous carols services and summer children's programs, and there are hundreds of summer camps for school aged kids run by various organisations such as Scripture Union and Crusaders.
With all of this I've still probably missed another couple of hundred opportunities for putting your faith into action. All these efforts make for an impressive vista to behold and this is only considering what is, in essence, targeted towards families and children and only limited to the summer holidays!
Pray for volunteers
With so many activities happening all at the same time there is a significant demand placed on the volunteers who all help with their own areas of responsibility.
Volunteers can only give so much and there are a limited number of Christians who can offer their time for what is often at least an entire week. Prayer, however, is a way that we can all support each other through this period, so let's all make it a priority.
A great opportunity
It might seem crazy just how much outreach goes on during this time of year but all these ministries are on during this time for a reason. Going out to people (or inviting them in) to hear the gospel makes the most of a time of year when holiday parks fill up and kids can go away on a camp for a week.
There are so many people that can be reached during this time of year that it clearly is a great opportunity.
Offering financial support
Given how important a time of year this is for ministry how can we all help out? As I said before prayer is the most important thing, both for those directly involved and those of us serving in other ways. Another opportunity is to support financially.
Most volunteers pay to support the ministries they are a part of and often that isn't really enough to maintain everything, there are also many children who can't go to a Christian camp without external assistance.
Food is very important to just about any ministry and our upcoming round of summer outreaches won't be any different: slices, biscuits and various other delicious goodies form the cornerstone of many afternoon teas or snacks for kids during a Bible study.
All these missions are in constant need for volunteers, as you might expect, so if you can offer to help out it certainly isn't too late to sign up. A camp I'm looking forward to serving on these holidays is critically low on leaders at the moment, this is a real need.
Be excited for this exciting season coming up. Keep an ear out for where you can lend a hand, and pray for your sisters and brothers serving this summer.
Sam Gillespie is a composer and a computer programmer based in Sydney.
Sam Gillespie previous articles may be viewed
www.pressserviceinternational.org/sam-gillespie.html
