Summer. It’s a tricky time for many churches.

Attendance is erratic, manpower is stretched and much of the momentum built up through the rest of the year simply dribbles away.

There are valid reasons why summer is often an unproductive time in church life. The onslaught of good weather, holidays and exams, combined with the lack of any potent Christian cultural event, like Easter or Christmas, conspire to make the season a bit of a dead zone. Something to be survived, before gearing back up for the activity of the autumn.

The organic rhythm of church life often seems backwards – frenetic activity in the winter, semi-hibernation in the summer. When it comes to outreach, many church leaders simply write the season off.

And yet the very things that make the summer season problematic for churches can actually provide unique opportunities in and of themselves. The negatives, seen through a different lens, become positives.

Summer, more than any other season, provides the best context and opportunities for social activities and relationship building. And because the vast majority of people come to faith through the influence of relationships, it doesn’t take much insight to realise the incredible importance of the summer season in any missional church calendar.

This guide is all about how to make the most of the summer period by concentrating on a strategy of social interaction and relationship building. We’ll look at what makes socials so powerful, we’ll explore how to pitch them at the right level and we’ll examine the way they best fit into an overall strategic outreach plan.