I am pale, ginger, have freckles and love summer. Even though my genetic makeup means I have to be careful around the sun so I don’t turn into a red frog, I still love the summer. When I first arrived in Australia, I was shocked that my new home in Melbourne wasn’t directly beside the beach, there weren’t blonde-haired surfers everywhere, and the sun was not always shining.
But now I love the summer holidays and the beach. It's all part of the Australia that I love. I love it getting warmer, I love going to the beach, and I love eating ice cream.
About this time of year, I start to just wear shorts permanently and only take them off around April. Our cities on the weekend get abandoned for Australia’s love of the beach. The summer also means youth are off school which means they have more time and are able relax.
Get out there!
During Jesus' ministry, he went to places where people gathered and met them where they were at. We see from Scripture that Jesus went to people in public places including weddings, synagogues, the countryside and festivals.
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. (John 2:1-2)
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptised. (John 3:22)
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. (John 5:1)
Like Jesus did, it's a good idea for us to go to public places on mission too. If you are a Christian, the summer is a great time to use your free time to serve God through a summer beach mission. The beaches are full of people; people whom God loves dearly. There are so many opportunities to serve Jesus through beach missions. This summer, my church City on a Hill is launching our first youth beach mission in Geelong, Victoria. I am excited and believe God will use it to connect many young people in Geelong to Christians.
The need is great for workers and volunteers and Jesus points this out to his disciples.
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few (Matthew 9:37).
I want to encourage joining a beach mission this summer. There is a massive need to reach people who don’t know about Jesus and to use your summer holidays to make a huge difference for Jesus. Hit the beach!!
Mission Organisations
If you're in Australia, here are some ways you can join a beach mission:
Scripture Union Australia offers the opportunity to volunteer on beach missions right across Australia (www.scriptureunion.org.au)
Christian Surfers are good people to contact about local beach missions (www.christiansurfers.org.au)
Get involved with a local church that has beach missions. Here's a couple of suggestions:
www.narrabeenbaptist.org.au/mission - Narrabeen Beach Mission
www.cityonahill.com.au - Geelong Beach Mission
