Well it's the last week of school for most students and that means that summer break is around the corner. Summer presents a unique issue with parents who work.  What do you do with your students while you are at work? Do you leave them at home all day? Do you make them get a job? Do you drop them off at the pool with $5 and  a bottle SPF 245? 

It never fails that every summer youth pastors get calls or emails asking "Why can't you do more stuff?" This question is usually followed with the line "I want my kid to have something to do so that they stay out of trouble"

The student ministries at HRBC don't subscribe to this train of thought for a couple of reasons. 

1. This line of thinking reduces ministry of the church to nothing more than babysitting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time with students and having fun. But the purpose of the church ministry is not to babysit, it's to help students grow closer to God. 

2. It reduces the effectiveness of the events that we have. In college Economics I learned about The Law of Diminishing Returns. It means the more you do something, the less effective it is. By doing programs for the sake of doing programs you cheapen the results and the expectations of the people participating.

3. If a student is going to cause trouble, they are going to cause trouble. I've seen parents force students to every single church event that the church had in order for the student to "stay out of trouble" Almost every single time the student still found trouble.

Those are a few reasons why the Student Ministry at HRBC chooses to resist this train of the thought. But that doesn't mean we don't offer anything. Actually our summer schedule can be found here . A couple of notes about that schedule...

Be. Love. Serve. Summer Edition - Every week we are doing a service project on Tuesdays. This is geared for people of all ages and families. More information can be found at the missions website here. You have to sign up in order to participate.

Shakes and Scripture - This is a 4 week summer bible study that will meet at Chick Fil A and have a time of Bible Study.  During the summer it's really difficult to build consistency due to trips, vacations, and jobs, so each week of this study will be stand alone so that a student can join at anytime. 

VBS - This is a great opportunity for teens to serve the church! Sign up to help out now!

I'm excited about this summer and the things that are being offered! If you want to take part in any of these, feel free to contact me at jon@hrbcrichmond.org