Summer Madness - Australia

The Excitement builds as registrations from across Queensland pour in the office in a post Christmas rush.
The leaders are ready, the program is set, the studies are prepared, all of the electives are in place. We are finishing off name tags and allocating youth groups to rooms and trying to work out where we will fit everyone. Julian Hamilton jumps on a plane very soon to wing his way from Ireland.

If you are wondering what to do to prepare for the event then why not spend some time thinking about how you will help make this event the best that it can be. Think about your friends that will be coming to Summer Madness and how you might serve them. Imagine yourself at your best. What kind of attitude will you bring, how will you treat people, see yourself joining in and having a good time. This will be a fantasitc time in a Christian Community in the presence of God. Make the most of it.

Has your church signed up for Summer Madness yet? Over 32 Uniting churches and 200 young people in Queensland have signed up to come to Summer Madness in January 11th-14^th in 2008. Held at Alex park on the Sunshine Coast, this will be the biggest discipleship focused youth camp in the Uniting Church in years. We are on track top break the 300 mark. Summer madness is hosted by YACMU and is run by a collective of UC Youth Workers in Queensland 

The origins of the Summer Madness Festival are in Ireland.

Go and check out their website and see the potential for this event in Australia:

www.summermadness.co.uk

Summer Madness is only 4 months way and it’s time to really crank up the promotion in your church and amongst your young people. Here are some steps you can take to get your whole group there:

1. Promote the event at every gathering and ask young people individually to commit to coming

2. Organise a couple of fundraising activities to offset the cost of the event. Once people have been involved in fundraising to make something happen they are more likely to commit to the event.

3. Send a letter home to parents explaining the benefits of the event from a parent perspective and from a youth ministry perspective. Even if the parents are not from the church you need to be upfront about why the youth are going to the event. Generally the parents will be supportive

4. Place the posters up around the church

5. Give every young person a registration form to fill in

6. Plan a way for your youth to get involved in the event. Your group could run a skill elective or twin with a church from another part of Queensland and host them before the event.

Remember Summer Madness is a great way to kick start your youth ministry for the year and give it some real focus. If the event is used well you will be able to give the youth something to look forward to over the Christmas holidays.

Have you ever noticed the drop off between the number of young people in the group at the end of the year and the youth who show up at the start of the new year. Summer Madness builds those young people into the new year’s youth ministry.