Summer can be one of the toughest times of the year to do youth ministry. Attendance is inconsistent due to family vacations, band camp, athletics, and summer school, not to mention students from broken homes who spend the summer in a different household than during the school year.

Students and leaders are burnt out on the normal weekly programs, and so is the youth pastor. Commitment to "programs" can be at an all-time low. For these reasons, many churches let their youth ministries go into a coma for the summer, hopefully to be revived when school starts in the fall. But there are alternatives to making the summer's two months a youth ministry black hole.

Although summer vacation usually contains numerous activities that compete with the church for the attention, time, and financial resources of young people and their families, youth ministries should take full advantage of the flexibility that many students enjoy during this time of year. Summer can be a great time to build relationships between adult leaders and students (2 Tim. 2:2), as well as to equip students to do ministry (Eph. 4:12).

Discipleship is ministry's goal. Jesus modeled this truth by calling and training his followers, and then he commanded us to follow his example (Matt. 28:18-20). Although students are often out of town during the summer, when they are in town, they tend to be very available. Even when students work summer jobs, they do not have the constant stream of academic and extracurricular demands that press them during the school year. Adult leaders in the youth ministry should take advantage of this unusual availability in order to do intensive, intentional, disciple-making.

The best discipleship takes place in the context of a relationship between a student and a significant adult that is developed over a long period. These relationships occur when Godly adults spend time engaging willing students in a personalized plan for spiritual growth. Here are some tips for adult leaders who choose to make students disciples:

Take one all the way

Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators and strong proponent of one-on-one discipleship, encouraged every Christian to find one person and "take them all the way" for the Lord. Trotman understood the need for small group Bible study, worship services, evangelistic crusades, and personal soul-winning, but he believed that in the midst of doing all those things, a mature Christian should be investing special time in at least one younger believer in order to help him become a mature, reproducing disciple.

Trotman's one-on-one principle presents a challenge to modern youth ministry. In the midst of doing large rallies, youth church, youth choir, praise band, Sunday school, outreach, mission trips, camps and retreats, how many students are we really taking "all the way?"

The great thing about intentional disciple-making is that it does not have to be programmed. The old adage that true spirituality "is more caught than taught" is applicable here. Godly adults with a vision and a heart for making disciples of students can have a great impact - it is more a matter of choices and priorities rather than spiritual gifts or specialized training. Not every adult leader will choose to make personal discipleship a significant part of his or her ministry, and not every student will be willing to engage in these kinds of relationships. But for those adults and teens who choose to participate, the rewards are invaluable. If a church would challenge each adult leader in the youth ministry to "take one kid all the way," it would increase the long-term effectiveness of that churches' student ministry.

Press in to those that press in to you

One of the most difficult things about one-on-one discipleship is trying to decide which student to disciple. This concern can be easily alleviated by employing the simple axiom - "press in to those that press in to you."

A good youth ministry offers a variety of programs that target the general audience of students, but true discipleship can only take place in a relationship that is mutually voluntary between an adult and a student. Adults should be encouraged to develop these relationships with students with whom they naturally connect. It is impossible for an adult leader to spend equal time and to have an equal depth of relationship with every student - so it would be wise for youth pastors to release leaders from guilt and allow them to have an impact with students that are a natural "fit" for them.

Obviously, this practice opens leaders to favoritism charges and also has the potential to exclude some students who wish to be discipled. A wise youth pastor can help to address these issues by recruiting and training leaders who will be sensitive to teens that have difficulty "fitting in." In fact, it is often the more off-beat student who will be willing to engage in these types of intense relationships.

Any method will work if you work the method

Once adult leaders have committed to taking a student "all the way," and after they have identified a student who is willing to be discipled, they still need to devise a plan to help that student grow. There are many ways to conduct a discipling relationship. Adults can meet students for a meal, invite them to their home, or take them to a ballgame. Meetings can be weekly, bi-weekly, or at any other interval. The key is to set up a regular time (allowing for summer interruptions, of course).

Structure of these meetings can range from an accountability time, to a Bible study, to a prayer time, to simply talking. The truth is that almost any method will work, if the adult leader will just work the method. There is a large selection of Bible study materials, prayer journals, and devotional books available that are specifically designed to help young people grow in their relationship with Christ. Adult leaders can invest in students by walking them through the process of using these materials, while also sharing their own life experiences and spiritual wisdom.

Although this season can be somewhat of a letdown from the school year's week-in, week-out intensity, summer's relaxed flexibility also can provide super opportunities for adults to connect with kids on a deep level. Camps and trips are excellent times for those relationships to start, and the short-term excitement that surrounds these events can serve as a springboard to long-term spiritual growth through discipling relationships. By making the effort to invest in students' lives, adult leaders in the youth ministry can truly make summertime productive for Jesus.

Jimmy Scroggins is the minister to students at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. He is an adjunct professor of youth ministry at Boyce College, and is completing a Ph.D. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, working in the area of global youth ministry leadership. Jimmy speaks to young people and youth leaders throughout the United States, and he has a passion for training youth pastors and youth ministry-focused missionaries. He and his wife, Kristin, have four sons: James (6), Daniel (4), Jeremiah (2), and Isaac (1).