5 Sneaky Temptations That Pull People Away from Church in the Summer

1. Vacation

Taking a trip is a great way to explore God's creation, get a temporary reprieve from your regular duties, and hopefully find some time to reflect and recharge. In our home, when we are traveling with our kids, we don't call them vacations but family trips. A switch in the title helps you switch your mindset. If you are traveling with kids, old or young, you are probably not going to spend much time sitting back in a chair reading your book.

Vacations are a wonderful way to bring adventure and new experiences to your family. However, be careful of letting a vacation get in the way of your family worshipping the God who created all these beautiful vacation spots.

There are only fifty-two Sundays in the year. That's it! Our duty as Christians is to worship God and enjoy Him forever. We are called to worship the Creator every Sunday. Now, of course, there will be illness and unforeseen events that might keep you from attending church one week, but in general, we are called to worship God each and every Sunday.

If you find yourself traveling multiple weekends, I encourage you to start a new family tradition. Try finding a local church wherever you are going. My husband researches and finds us a church similar to our home church every time we are away. It's become a wonderful tradition. We have explored and experienced different churches, met wonderful pastors, and been introduced to new people. God will bless your time when you seek Him. He has blessed our efforts, and I encourage you to make attending church part of your vacation.

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2. Relaxed Summer Attitudes

We go hard during the year. If you have kids, you drive them around, participate in different activities, and are busy with jobs and the joys of family life. Kids are worn out from projects, tests, and homework by May. Parents are probably ready for a reprieve from driving kids to their weekly activities.

Come June everyone is ready for a shift in pace. While taking a break from the grind of school, work, and activities is healthy, we don't want that relaxed attitude to seep into our church attendance.

Attending church is important for spiritual growth. It reminds us to worship the God who created us and puts us in fellowship with others in our church. If we aren't there to connect with others, we may not know their needs, especially if they are going through a tough time.

Be consistent with your church attendance all year round. If you do this, you will model a wonderful spiritual habit, fulfill your duty to worship our Creator, and your kids won't have to ask if they are going to church each week. If you decide to attend every week with no exceptions, the kids know the expectation and hopefully won't put up a fight. Set the standard that your family attends church every week.

There will be things that shift with the summer schedules, but attending church should not be one of them. You demonstrate to your children how important church is when you attend every Sunday. While our attitudes may be a little more relaxed, and maybe our wardrobes, the jobs required to run church every week do not fluctuate. The church needs its members to be actively involved in fulfilling the many responsibilities needed to pull off a church service, and they need you in attendance.

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3. Influence of Others

As much we would like to believe others don't influence our decisions, typically there is some guidance. When your neighbor invites you to a fun activity on Sunday morning, you will be tempted.

It is so important for a married couple to decide what their values are and stick to them. If you desire to be a faithful Christian, church attendance is not optional. As I mentioned before, our society will pull you away from your faith. Almost every message you receive in the world tells you the opposite of what the Bible says. You must hold firm to the words that have the only truth we can find.

Peer pressure doesn't stop when you graduate high school or college. It continues in the working world, in neighborhoods, and in social groups. There will be people who unknowingly tempt you to skip church just one weekend. It seems so innocent to accept their invitation. Their kids are on a soccer team that plays on Sunday; your neighbor wants you to join them on their boat; there are so many things you could be invited to participate in. We all have things we could do on Sunday morning other than attend church.

Sunday has been deemed the Lord's Day, and therefore, our duty is to worship Him. How do I know this? Exodus 20:8-11 tells us to "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and so all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or females servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

We keep it holy by worshipping Him. Be an example to your friends, family, and neighbors. Let them know you attend church on Sundays and invite them to come with your family. Be resolute in your church attendance, and your dedication will be noticed by others.

4. Kid's Activities

Sports can be a great avenue for kids to get exercise, learn skills, and be social. However, our society has become a bit sport crazy and questionable an idol. Parents run their kids around from one event to the other. Sometimes, sports consume the whole weekend, and families are split up.

Each family must put their own boundaries on what sports will look like for their family. Sports used to mainly be held during the week or on Saturday; not anymore. Sports are taking over Sunday and are not going anywhere. While this may not impact the secular society, it does impact Christians.

You are now being forced to decide between attending church and having your child participate in an activity, sports, or otherwise. Be ready! If you haven't been hit with this yet, you will. Watch out; it's coming your way. Be prepared.

You can't foresee every situation you will be approached with, but have a strategy ready. Take time to think, pray, and discuss with your spouse how you are going to handle sports or other activities that will land on Sunday. It will encroach on your church attendance if you aren't prepared.

In our family, we have decided we don't compete on Sundays. We attend church Sunday morning. In the afternoon, if our kids desire, they can go outside and practice whatever sport they want for fun, but we are not driving them to organized sports for practice or games. This prevents us from ever having the battle of whether or not we will be participating. We know ahead of time. Is this decision easy to maintain? No. It's hard when our kids have something they really want to do, and we must defend our decision and faith yet again. Making that decision ahead of time takes the emotion out of the equation.

5. Your Sin Propensity

We all have different backgrounds, experiences, personalities, and particular sins. What have been your biggest struggles as a Christian? It could vary tremendously, and ours most likely won't be the same.

Whatever area you are most tempted in, Satan will use this to try and keep you out of church. To defeat these temptations, first you must be aware of them, second, utilize the power of the Holy Spirit to defeat them. We are not strong enough in our own to ward off these temptations. When we lean on, pray for, and have faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, He can help us change our ways.

We must be on guard! Satan is at work in our lives. He's like that annoying mole or vole, creating tunnels, disturbing your ground. Satan wants nothing more than to pull God's people away from church.

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Sunday mornings can be the toughest and most challenging morning of the week. How often do things not go according to plan as you're attempting to get to church? You would think after all these years, we would figure out a way for it to run smoothly, but Satan is constantly at work.

Attending church is so crucial for our spiritual health and our kids. We all need to be there. Be ready for the various attempts Satan will try to keep you out of church, and be steadfast in your conviction to get there. Be aware and alert of the ways you will be tempted. I have named just a few, but as 1 Peter 5:8-9 reminds us, "Be alert and of sober mind." Be intentional about your decisions. Stick to your convictions. Most importantly, have a clear conscience about your church attendance.

I pray your summer is filled with adventure, some downtime, engaging with nature, and consistent church attendance. I pray your presence will bless those around you and that you will grow in knowledge and wisdom of our amazing God.

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