Summer is no vacation for youth workers. When students are available, we ramp up. Camp, volunteer weeks, service projects, and adventure trips can bring your youth ministry’s greatest hits and students’ highest peaks in faith development. (No pressure!) Prepare yourself and your ministry as you kick into high gear. It’s time for a thorough spring cleaning: declutter your home, head, and heart to get the most out of a busy summer.
Organize your physical spaces
Give yourself the gift of clean and organized spaces for work and living. (Yes, this even includes your vehicle.) Wipe down and tidy up. Surround yourself with inspiring and beautiful things. Consider an art and book swap with another church worker. Parent a new plant. Frame and display a favorite photo from the year. Add an accent wall of chalk paint. Fresh and clean physical spaces boost your mood and productivity.
Dust off your relationships
Quarantine and isolation have pulled us from interactions with family, friends, and neighbors. Take time to reconnect. Reach out to someone you miss. Invite a new friend to share time doing an activity you love to do: bake, toss a Frisbee, or skip rocks. We are designed to be in community.
Clear out the mental cobwebs
Open the windows to your mind and let a fresh breeze blow through. Take a reflective view of the school year and set goals for the one ahead. Focus your thoughts in a bullet journal. Take some deep breaths. Spend some time in nature. Laugh out loud. Clearing your mind allows for less negativity and anxiety and more focus and calm, not to mention sounder sleep.
Declutter your spiritual self
Just like a chaotic closet or overstuffed drawer, we function best spiritually when we remember our purpose. Remember that God calls you to ministry and has a plan for you. Marie Kondo your spiritual clutter. Sweep out guilt and fears that crowd your heart and fill yourself back up with worship, prayer, and what “sparks joy” to help you fulfill your purpose and mission.
Greet your busy summer with a refreshed home, head, and heart. God is continually renewing you and paving the way for a life-changing season of faith exploration and development.
