Evangelicals Now
<< April 2004 >>

Where are you taking your holiday?

The evenings begin to draw out and, for many, thoughts turn to the warm and sunny days of summer and holidays.

Such thoughts help to speed the grey winter days, helped by the TV travel programmes which offer us tempting vistas of what next summer could have in store if we book early for that bargain villa holiday in Spain, that self-catering gem in Greece or that idyllic week flotilla-sailing in the Caribbean! Add the weekend supplements and those visits to the travel agent resulting in a pile of brochures that help whet our appetites for that perfect week away next summer.

It is an enticing prospect and probably most put cash aside to fund that much-needed week or fortnight, and it is right and proper to do so. But I find myself asking a searching question: 'Where does God fit into my holiday plans?' Do we pray about such things? Do we have a 'theology of holidays'? We should, for were they not originally 'holy' days and was not 'rest' a creation ordinance? Do we see our holidays as a break from work and, dare I say it, a break from God and church, etc., or do we ask 'How will my holiday help me and my family to "grow in grace and the knowledge and love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3.18)?'

Now, of course, we do not consciously think of 'having a break' from God and church, but I cannot help wondering whether we do so by default because we do not actively think about using such times of recreation for spiritual growth as well as physical rest and refreshment.

Cards on the table

Perhaps at this point I should put my cards on the table and declare a somewhat vested interest. I lead the Scripture Union Beach Mission in Criccieth in North Wales, and two challenges were presented to me last year by parents who came to the mission with their families.

The first was that as a number of such families have been coming for many years their children will soon have outgrown the activities and be moving on as team members at Criccieth or elsewhere, leaving parents free to holiday in some other place. This will create a hole in our very strong 'support team' of Christian families and therefore we need to encourage others to come and fill the gap.

The second challenge was hearing of a Christian mum with a four-year-old daughter who had chosen a fortnight in Benidorm for her summer holiday and that raised a question in my mind as I linked it with the first challenge. The question was: 'How will a fortnight in Benidorm help Mum and daughter to grow in their Christian lives?' as I thought how that could have happened at Criccieth or in a similar place.

As Christian parents we surely have a huge responsibility to nurture our children in the faith and the range of summer mission and camp possibilities are greatly helpful in this regard. Which is more important - my pleasure on my holiday or my children's spiritual growth? And, of course, the two are not mutually exclusive, for what greater pleasure can there be than seeing your children grow and mature as Christians, making Christian friends and being encouraged to live out their faith in an often hostile environment.

Did we miss Spain?

My personal testimony is that many years at a SU Beach Mission greatly blessed me and my wife and were, we are sure, instrumental in firmly rooting two of our three children in their faith. Did we miss going to Spain or elsewhere? We did not give it any real thought as the children wanted to go back and meet friends and be part of the mission. Have we missed out? If we missed out on anything, and I am not persuaded that we did, then it has been amply compensated for many times over by seeing our two in enthusiastic 'full time service'.

OK, I come clean and declare that, as a teacher, I was able to do other things as well, but I will say without hesitation that I would have foregone all for the joy of seeing what that mission fortnight did for my children and for my wife and me.

So, Christian parents, I leave you with a challenge. Will you plan your 2004 holiday with Christian growth in mind or does Benidorm or the Caribbean or some other exotic location near or far pull you more strongly?

Works like the mission at Criccieth need your support. Your children need every support and encouragement they can get to follow Christ in a hostile world. Will you consider changing your holiday planning to achieve both this and blessing for yourselves, as well as taking part in the adult programme that we and many missions offer?

It is a question with eternal consequences.
Andrew Bradley,
andrewbrad@aol.com