Making Your Summer Holy

Even though it has been a long time since I served on a college campus as a Campus Minister, I still feel like taking a deep sigh of relief as the summer approaches! I guess that routine of looking forward to the summer and a little bit slower pace just carries over all the rest of your life once you have lived it as a minister to College Students. The Scriptures teach us to “remember the Sabbath and keep it holy”. In addition to Sundays I think the Bible is reminding us we need some special down time. What I don’t think is that it is calling us to be lazy and neglectful. It says that Sabbath time is “holy time”. may I be so bold as to offer some suggestions on how to make your summer “holy time”?

1. Spend some quality time with your family. How many evenings and weekends have you spent away from your spouse and children? Make sure you spend special time with your family to make up for all that time you have spent away from them during the school year!

2. Renew your own spiritual heart. There are tons of ways to do this, and it takes disciple and self motivation, but it is a must if you are going to be at your best in the fall. Here are some suggestions. Read some of those books you have been meaning to read. Spend extra time in Bible Study and Prayer. Attend a conference that will nurture your soul. Spend time with other Collegiate Ministers sharing ideas and fellowshipping.

3. Plan your fall ministries so that you don’t wind up at the last minute getting stressed out trying plan what you want to do. Evaluate the past years ministry and then thoroughly prepare for the fall, making as many detailed plans so that you start the fall prepared and fresh.

4. There will be fewer students around in the summer time, so find a group that is interested in growing and pour yourself into them in a more personal and deeper way than you have time to do doing the regular semesters. This will be a very rewarding experience.

These are only a few suggestions to get you thinking about how to best honor God and make your summer a “Sabbath” experience! Remember to keep it “Holy”!

John Moore

National Collegiate Ministry Leader

Church and Network Partnerships, LifeWay

The Ripple Effect of Citizens of the Kingdom

Two weeks ago I attend the funeral of Myra Gulledge. Myra served as the BSU Director at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA from 1951 to 1988. I had the privilege to serve on the same team with her from 1977 until she retired. There are so many things about Myra and her life and ministry that are absolutely outstanding. I could share a lot of the details of her life writing in this blog. If you want to see more about her life go to this LINK.

However, there is just one thing that I want to focus on here. At the funeral some statistics were shared about her ministry that I found to be amazing. In her 38 years as a BSU Director she produced 117 Church staff members and 15 full time international missionaries. No one kept up with the hundred s and hundreds of Students that came through her ministry who are now Deacons, WMU Directors, Sunday School Teachers or Committee chairs. She did not have a list of the students who served as officers, or Summer Missionaries or in some other role of leadership that prepare them to be Market Place witnesses. As I listened to this report on her life I thought of the hundreds of men and women who serve today and have served in the past and the kind of impact their ministry has had on the Kingdom. I am grateful to all of you who have given you life to this ministry and for what God is doing through you and your ministry!