Floating down a lazy river in warm, Floridian sunshine is one of my “close to heaven” scenes. Considering how much I loved it, no one would be surprised to find me and my friend floating endlessly on our first (and probably last) solo girls’ trip during the summer of 2023.
After five years together in high school and three attending the same university, the impending “last summer” felt monumental. It symbolized an end to the cycle we had grown so used to for our whole lives.
As college students, looking forward to those sun-drenched vacations and brief respites from classes is tempting. Even if you opt to take courses in the summer, it feels different. Summer is “our time” as students.
Isn’t it?
Often, I didn’t realize that even my vacation time belonged to the Lord—no different than my months spent in school trying to do my best. Yes, my hard work and desire to glorify him in my university courses and conversations with classmates were good, but the gospel doesn’t hit pause and hit the beach.
College students, our lives as Christians continue in the summer. This doesn’t mean we have to miss out on rest or pleasures, but rather that we should dedicate those blessings from the Lord right back to him, just as we do during our semesters. The Bible doesn’t offer us a vacation from making the gospel known, rather it reminds us that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
1. The Church is Still There (Ministry of Presence)
Unlike college, our churches run on the same calendar as the rest of the world. For the entire year, the church serves the Lord, dwells in his Word, and fellowships together. Too often, we forget this and withdraw.
Visit the small group you may have neglected, serve at Vacation Bible School, and be present on Sundays.
During the school year, our study nights and homework may demand much of our attention, getting in the way of deeper involvement in the church. Take advantage of the summer months to delight in the beauties of God’s people. Visit the small group you may have neglected, serve at Vacation Bible School, and be present on Sundays.
The ministry of presence, as Tim Challies called it, is “the ministry of being there—of simply gathering with the church on Sunday. This may seem like a little thing, but it matters.” Without taking the time to receive from God’s Word and his people, we find ourselves depleted and unprepared for when the opportunity comes to spread the gospel.
2. Pray the Risky Prayer
There are prayers that are nearly always answered, most of the time quickly and in ways we’d never expect. Prayers for opportunities to share and advance the gospel fall under that umbrella. May that be the prayer of our summers, however risky it might be.
It may be awkward, and it may come in a way we never expected. For me, one of those examples of the risky prayers answered came in the form of my childhood bully being in the same class as me right as I prayed for the Lord to open a door for his Word to be shared through me.
She reached out, and I was given the opportunity to share with her what Christ had done in my life. I didn’t hear from her after that, but the Lord placed her in my path for a reason, and it was no coincidence that it happened right as I prayed for such a time.
Our summers are profitable grounds for evangelism, and the Lord hears our prayers for an opportunity.
3. Advance the Gospel and Your Career
Some of us might not spend our summer on the beach. Rather, we may spend it trying to stack our resumes and preparing for our future careers. Internships, temporary jobs, and summer classes can take our time and energy.
Get to know those around you, and let them know you beyond your skills and work ethic.
They’re also profitable grounds for evangelism. Get to know those around you, and let them know you beyond your skills and work ethic. These are admirable qualities—things every Christian should seek to exemplify in their jobs—but our careers are also the fields for sowing that God has put us in.
Like everything in our lives as Christians, summer can be given over to God and lived out for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom. And we can still do it in flip-flops.
Daniela Angulo is a student at Florida International University, where she studies writing and English rhetoric. She is a member of Providence Road Church in Miami, Florida.
