SUMMER: Don't make plans... make disciples.

One of my favorite family memories is dinner. My mom drove us crazy because she made us turn off the TV  and when we did that, oddly enough, we started talking... to each other. The topics have changed but to this day we have great conversations during meals when we get together. We are a religious, philosophical, and funny family and nobody would believe our crazy conversations but through them my parents were doing their part in making us disciples. Another memory, and one of our family jokes, is that whenever we put up our tent it rained. You know when great conversations happen? When everybody's trying to sleep in a tent while it rains. "Don't touch the sides of the tent!"

So, here's my absolute favorite and best resource for your congregation this summer. Set aside the structure, the constant event planning, organized game playing and programming, and encourage the families in your congregation to spend time at the cabin, camping, hanging out in the yard, eating dinner on the porch, taking a walk after dinner, inviting the neighbors over to sit in the yard, and hanging out with their church friends at the lake. Talk about anything and everything, about life, the mysteries of the world, animals, God, the stars. Find out what people are thinking and don't lecture or correct. Listen. Respond. Talk. You won't see it but they will grow. You will grow. Faith will grow. Making disciples isn't about forcing conversations or formal programs. It's about looking, listening, laughing, loving, and living... with God.