Summer offers ministry leaders something that other seasons rarely provide: margin. The pace changes. Calendars loosen just enough. Meetings shift. Attendance patterns fluctuate. And while it may be tempting to use every open space to catch up, get ahead, or solve lingering ministry challenges, summer may actually be inviting you to something far more important.
Use this season to invest deeply in family and relationships.
Ministry leadership can unintentionally train us to live hurried lives around meaningful things without fully experiencing them. Summer creates opportunities to reverse that pattern. Take advantage of slower evenings, longer daylight hours, and more relaxed schedules to prioritize unhurried conversations with the people who matter most.
Sit on the back porch longer. Take walks without checking your phone. Stay at the dinner table after the meal is over. Let conversations wander instead of rushing toward the next obligation. Some of the most important moments in relationships happen when nobody is trying to make anything happen.
Get outside.
Go to the ballgame. Attend the neighborhood cookout. Find a local festival. Watch fireworks with friends. Pull together a small group to attend a concert in the park. Go camping. Take the family to the lake. Say yes to ice cream runs and spontaneous gatherings.
These settings matter more than we often realize.
Ministry leaders spend much of the year inside structured environments — meetings, services, counseling appointments, planning sessions, classrooms, and scheduled conversations. But many meaningful spiritual and relational moments emerge in unstructured spaces where people simply enjoy being together.
Organic conversations happen differently around a fire pit than they do across a conference table.
People often open up while sitting beside you at a baseball game or walking through a festival. Friendships deepen during long summer evenings. Trust grows in ordinary moments. Memories are formed that carry relationships through harder seasons later.
Summer also reminds ministry leaders that rest is not laziness. Replenishment is stewardship.
Jesus regularly withdrew from the crowds, spent time around tables, walked with people, and shared ordinary moments with friends. Ministry was never intended to consume every ounce of emotional and relational energy we possess.
So this summer, resist the urge to fill every open space with productivity.
Be present with your family. Reconnect with friends. Laugh more. Stay outside longer. Create margin for conversation. Enjoy the people God has placed around you.
The ministry opportunities will still be there in the fall.
But the people sitting on the porch with you this summer are the real ministry too.
Bob Bickford
Executive Director
Nashville Baptist Association