Why Focus on Summer Strategy?
Summer is a unique opportunity for churches to grow, connect, and serve – even in the face of changing schedules and limited resources. With Ministry Brands tools such as WorshipPlanning, Websites, Giving, and ChMS, churches can stay organized, engage volunteers, and keep generosity strong. Whether you’re running a full VBS or simply staying connected through texts and emails, the right technology can turn a quiet season into a strategic one.
🗓️ WorshipPlanning
You may already be planning your summer programming, including VBS, Youth Camps, and fun summer church events. But what will really set an effective church apart is how you execute those plans. When your team has clear communication, empowered volunteers, and the right tools in place, everything runs more smoothly, freeing you up to lead confidently and focus on caring for your people, not just managing logistics.
As planning is at the heart of preparing for this season, this is where Service Planning comes in. Often viewed as just a Sunday worship tool, it’s also your summer strategy hub. Use it to:
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- Build detailed daily schedules
- Assign volunteers to specific roles
- Host training documents and curriculum
- Organize prep days/weeks for large events
📌 Explore our WorshipPlanning training resources here
🌐 Website
Your website is more than a bulletin board—it’s often your first impression, especially during summer when families are looking for events like VBS or summer camps. By updating your website with seasonal events, you allow your congregation to have the most up to date information as well as potential visitors and new members.
Ways to maximize your website's impact:
💸 Giving
With the inconsistency that the summer season can bring, this is a great time to promote your giving options. A friendly reminder can help keep this important act on the front of your members' minds. Reminding people of the importance of their gift will help keep the momentum going during the quieter summer months.
Here’s some ideas to share:
- Recurring Giving: Encourage members to set up automatic, recurring gifts to provide stability during the summer slump.
- Text and Mobile Giving: Make it easy for families on vacation or away from campus to continue supporting the mission.
- Impact Reports: Highlighting the need for your donors' gifts and showing the difference those gifts are making helps encourage continued support.
- Administrative Fees: Encouraging donors to cover administrative fees helps reduce costs for your ministry, allowing more of each gift to directly support your mission and extend its impact even further.
- Engagement Tab: This is in your giving account. Here, you’ll find resources for giving campaigns and free announcements
Consistent and thoughtful communication keeps generosity at the top of the mind. Here are several effective channels to share your giving message:
- Social media: Share impact stories, campaign updates, and easy ways to give.
- Announcement Scripts: Use clear, mission-focused language for podium or video announcements.
- Newsletters: Highlight ministry wins made possible through giving.
- Bulletins: Include brief giving reminders or QR codes that link directly to giving platforms.
- Emails: Send personalized updates, campaign invitations, or thank-you messages.
- Texts: Offer quick reminders, links to give, or real-time giving opportunities.
👥 ChMS
Your ChMS product has many tools to help you keep the ministry momentum going in the summer. It could allow you to do new things that you may not have time for during the other parts of the year. The quieter season is a great time to re-evaluate current ministry opportunities and maybe even add some new ones.
Here’s some ways you can use ChMS to help you do this:
- Forms: Simplify registration, auto-update your records, and streamline ministry management with automated workflows.
- Interactions: Use interactions to assign people for connecting/pastoral care
- Check-in: Use check-in to keep track of volunteers and registrants
- Mass Communication: Use texts for prayer requests, send emails at a regular cadence that suits your ministry
☀️ Things to Consider for a Quiet Summer
In a season where it's easy for people to slip through the cracks, your Amplify People module empowers your church to stay close, even when life gets busy. It's not about tracking attendance—it’s about cultivating relationships that matter.
For churches without big summer plans, you can stay connected with your community in different ways. Here are some ideas on how you can make an impact during a quiet summer:
- Check-ins with the elderly
- Kids activity day so single mothers can do what they need to do
- Coffee hours (connection)
- Devotional via weekly texts, emails
- Have your small group/bible study leaders reach out to the people in their group and plan a hangout.
Whether you’re busy or taking it slow, it all comes down to intentionality and connection. You don’t have to have a big summer program to connect with people.
‼️Free Resources
We have provided a free checklist that will give you a guideline to help plan for your summer programs such as VBS. You'll also find a set of free graphics to help promote your events. These resources are intended to simplify your planning process and allow more time to focus on the people.
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