Monday, May 6, 2013

Planning Your Summer

For some the students are gone....for others, it is just a few days away. Now is the time to plan your summer. You may say, that is the exact opposite of what I want to do....I want to chill some....that's the point. Plan so you can chill AND do what you have to do to be ready in August. Remember; good falls are made in the summer!

Here are some things to do or consider:

1. Schedule now your vacation time....use all of it....don't think you will just play it by ear.

2. If your school has Summer Orientations for new freshmen, can you plug into it formally or informally? If you are a Church Collwge Minister, can you partner with the BCM on it in some way? If the school won't let you formally, is there some place you should be standing at each Orientation with your tee shirt or name tag on?

3. If you have a Center or designated church space area, what needs to be cleaned, painted or thrown away? Get someone with fresh eyes to look at it. Paint a new accent wall. Dump out the drawers and closets. When I visit some church and campus areas, I am shocked at how nasty they look. One College Minister told me that was the janitor's problem. Silly me, I didn't realize God had called that janitor to be responsible for the College Ministry there!

4. Books....what books should you read this summer..,for your growth...in preparation for speaking this fall? Make a list. Order them....today!

5. Start a folder for materials, ideas, topics for possible fall talks. Put into it all summer.

6. If you are a church College Minister, do some training with your adult volunteers....not too late to do an appreciation event for them either!

7. Go visit another ministry you can learn from....going is better than calling or talking to them at a conference. At their place you will see things you would never think to ask about.

8. If you are amcampus based College Minister, mark off a few days to drive around and visit with area church pastors that support or connect to your ministry. Or visit with youth ministers who have studentsmwho come to your campus. Don't ask the pastor for anything...just visit with and encourage them and answer any questions they might have about your ministry. Lots of people go see them to ask for things.

9. Schedule some extra time with your children. After my girls were gone, I thought I had been a good dad, but not a great one! Be a great one!

10. If you are campus based, put some extra time into growing your relationship with whatever school officials that you most relate to or need to. One BCM Director I know does a steak cookout for the Recruiting office.

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